That didn’t sound good.
Flèche nodded gravely and turned to the man. “Thibault, this is my beloved magic teacher, Lam, the Countess of Mercure.”
“It’s nice to meet you, Thibault,” I said. “Based on that look on your face, it seems like you’re about to tell me something pretty unsettling.”
Flèche nodded. “The Hanche Kingdom is called the ‘second main church of the Motar Faith,’ after all. Whatever’s going on over there might be quite extreme.”
He didn’t hold the Motar Faith in very high regard, which I could understand given all the trouble it had caused him.
“You’ll be more comfortable sitting down. Here, take my seat,” I offered to Thibault and was about to stand up when Flèche scooted closer to me.
“You can sit here,” he said, pointing at the now-empty spot beside him.
There was indeed space for Thibault to sit down now, but...
“If I remember correctly, Hanche is a small island kingdom that doesn’t have much interaction with the mainland, right? I’m not very familiar with it.”
The current me was still painfully ignorant of the state of the world. I more or less knew where each nation was located, but I was still in the process of learning about each of their cultures and histories.
“Yes, that’s right, master. It’s a monarchy, just like Lèvres. But unlike us, they’re in the Motar Faith’s pocket. The entire country favors them,” Flèche explained.
“It sounds like a terrible environment for mages,” I commented.
Flèche nodded. “No question.”
Just as they’d been in Lèvres, it seemed that mana wielders were persecuted in Hanche.
“News travels slowly there, perhaps because it’s an island. The people mainly hear about world events through journalists like Thibault,” he continued.
“I see...”
As Flèche turned toward the journalist, he said, “Thibault, please explain your situation to master.”
“Y-Yes, Your Majesty!”
Thibault jumped to his feet and quickly brushed the dirt off his clothes. His glasses glimmered in the sunlight as he explained the circumstances of his exile.
“I-In the Hanche Kingdom, people believe that the Motar Faith is still active!” he said.
I let out a confused “Huh?” at the outrageous claim. “But it’s been dissolved. How is that possible?”
“It seems that the kingdom’s higher-ups are colluding with former bishops and priests of the Faith to manipulate information...”
I’d heard that the bishops and priests had all left their positions at the various cathedrals and places of worship now that the Faith was gone. Most of them were second or third sons of noble houses or came from wealthy families. Coupled with all the profits they’d made by exploiting the devotion of the Faith’s believers, they certainly weren’t lacking in means to support themselves.
Yet, some still moved to another nation and got involved with the ruling class there... What are they plotting?
There were a lot of people involved with the Faith, and I couldn’t put them all into the same basket. I knew that.
But when I think back on all the wrongdoings I saw them commit...I can’t help but think they’re up to no good.
I now understood why Flèche had sought me out today. I’d been suspicious of the Faith since I’d first learned of them, and if they tried to attack me with magic, I could easily retaliate. Besides, while they knew what Flèche looked like, most of the Faith’s members had no idea who I was.
“So there are people who don’t want the truth to get out, and it’s because of them that you ran away. Is that it?” I asked.
“Yes. I published an article about the collapse of the Faith and had no choice but to flee from Hanche. My fellow countrymen didn’t believe me, and most still believe in the Faith.”
What was the Faith trying to achieve by deceiving the people of Hanche? Their main church, the Cœur Cathedral in the Dukedom of Brunel, had been shut down. It was impossible for the bishops and priests in Hanche not to know of that.
And I’m pretty sure Lance has been going around destroying all the other cathedrals.
Lance, my third disciple, had resigned from his position as the Holy Father of the Faith. Now that Epocha was no longer there to stop him, he was traveling to all the Faith’s facilities to inform them that he had dissolved the religion. It wasn’t easy, and some of the bishops and priests tried to resist. Yet, my disciple didn’t give up and continued his tour of the continent to spread the news.
At the end of the day, the Motar Faith was just a fake religion invented by Epocha. Informing the believers of its dissolution was Lance’s way of taking responsibility for his actions.
That’s what he wrote in the letters he sent Char, at least. He even said he wouldn’t come to see me until he was done. Poor thing. He doesn’t need to torment himself so much over this...
At any rate, the Motar Faith was gone, and the main church was inactive. Perhaps the ruling class of Hanche was taking advantage of their nation’s insular nature to spread their lies. In such a closed environment with little contact with the mainland, it was likely that most people believed whatever the kingdom’s most influential individuals told them.
And if it’s as Flèche said and most people in Hanche are devout followers of the Faith, it makes the situation all the more concerning.
So they were pretending the Faith still existed over there...
With a glance, I urged Thibault to continue his story.
“Let me start from the beginning,” he said. “I was a freelance journalist in Hanche. I mostly wrote articles about world affairs.”
“Did you travel out of the kingdom often?” I asked.
“Yes. Since I wasn’t tied to any newspaper, I roamed the world to gather the latest news. I would write my articles and sell them back in Hanche. There aren’t many ways to learn about the outside world there, so my articles were quite popular...until that day.”
What he told us next was even more disturbing than I imagined.
“Right after I published my article about the dissolution of the Motar Faith, people started calling me a liar. The kingdom’s higher-ups publicly declared that the Faith was still intact. Most people believed them, and they began criticizing me and the other journalists who had published similar articles.”
“I see. The masses don’t know the truth, so the ruling class is instigating their hatred on purpose,” I commented.
“That’s what I believe is happening, yes. Before long, they figured out where I lived, and strangers came to spit insults at me. They began spreading rumors too. Some even stalked me whenever I went out.”
Those who jumped on the bandwagon to punish others at the first opportunity were the worst. They pushed victims to the brink, half pretending to deliver justice, half simply enjoying the chaos.
Sometimes, nations even hide their own agents among the common people to stir the flames.
Of course, I wasn’t claiming that was what was happening in Hanche.
Regardless, I couldn’t stand it when people attacked others without even bothering to verify whether the information they were given was true.
“Other journalists wrote articles denouncing and disparaging us as well. From what I’ve heard, those flew off the shelves. It seems some of my industry peers and certain newspaper companies are working with the government...”
“Things really are getting out of hand,” I said.
“I began fearing for my life, so I decided to leave Hanche for a while. I was afraid that people would be incited by the defamatory articles and come after me out of a misguided sense of justice.”
The government must have orchestrated all this to control the flow of information in Hanche and ensure that their lie wouldn’t be exposed. They hadn’t expected Thibault to publish his article so quickly and had scrambled to get rid of it. It was underhanded, but they likely thought this method was a good way to bury his article without much hassle or cost.
“I knew that Lèvres opposed the Faith, so I chose to come here,” Thibault continued. “I figured that, since we shared a common enemy, there was a good chance we could join forces.”
I nodded. “The Faith has caused much trouble to His Majesty, after all. They laid waste to the kingdom and even tried to take the castle,” I said, making sure to call Flèche by his title in front of Thibault. I didn’t want to undermine my disciple in his presence.
“Y-Yes. His Majesty warmly agreed to hear me out.” It was here that Thibault stopped, and Flèche took over.
“What truly intrigued me was what he told me after all that. Apparently, stragglers from the Faith have begun gathering in Hanche.”
“Stragglers?” I asked.
“Former bishops and former priests, mostly. They’re reluctant to let go of their former ranks and associated privileges and are apparently working to revive the Faith.”
“Wait, is that true?”
“I have no real proof yet, just Thibault’s word. That’s why I was looking for someone to poke around in Hanche and, if possible, encourage those former members of the Faith to leave the kingdom.”
“I see. So that’s why you came to me. I can get away no matter what happens, so I can safely do some sleuthing.”
“Yes. But you don’t have to go if you don’t want to,” Flèche assured me with a bright smile.
“How could I refuse? I’m always happy to help my adorable disciples.”
“Are you sure? I shouldn’t be trying to deter you since it was my idea in the first place, but you’ll have to travel to Hanche. You don’t mind?”
“I’ve never been off continent. I’m curious to see what Hanche is like. I want to see more of the world as it is now.”
Thibault broke into a grin. “Hanche is a beautiful country surrounded by nature, with many uncharted areas waiting to be explored. The food is delicious too. In particular, we’re known for producing high-quality durians.”
“...Can you repeat that last part?” I breathed.
“We grow tons of durians! You’ll be able to enjoy fresh, perfectly ripe ones.”
“That’s...” I gasped. “I’ll go! I have to go!” I said without a hint of hesitation.
Durians were my absolute favorite food. Well, I’d only ever tried durian juice, but given how delicious that was, there was no doubt the fruit itself would be just as good.
The durians exported to other nations were harvested when they were still unripe, and we had to wait for them to ripen before enjoying them. But if I were in Hanche, I’d be able to eat freshly harvested, perfectly ripe durians to my heart’s content. Setting aside the issue of the Motar Faith, a place with so much of my favorite food must’ve been an incredible place!