"Oh, could it be… you all?"
Executive knight Meiya grasped her mace in alarm. Azadin shook his head.
"We are merely a group of merchants, adventurers, and pilgrims."
"Oh, I see. R-right. Then, this…?"
"It seems the villagers fell victim to an evil spell. By the time we arrived, they had all turned into undead and attacked us."
"What? You mean the people from the Sawmill village? Oh, my god. And you repelled all of them?"
"Ah, not just us. There were other merchants and mercenaries, but they refused to even enter the village and turned back."
"I see. If you hadn't come, I would have remained trapped in there."
"Are you unharmed? How long were you trapped?"
"I'm not sure. There was water and food in the warehouse, so I managed to endure, but…"
"Would you mind if we took a look inside?"
"Ah, no! You can't!"
Meiya objected the moment Azadin suggested searching the interior.
"There may be clues inside regarding this incident, don't you think?"
"There's nothing like that!"
"How can you be so sure?"
"T-that's…"
At that moment, Midiam spoke up.
"Perhaps the holy knight had to relieve herself in the corner of the warehouse while holding out. She may have just taken care of the big business, but the small business would have been more frequent…"
"Waaahhh!"
Meiya slumped down where she stood. So, she had been blocking Azadin and the others from entering because she didn't want them to discover that she had urinated inside while trapped.
"That's hardly a serious reason. May we proceed with the investigation?"
"Wait, before that, who exactly are you? Investigating matters like this is the expertise of our Holy Knights. Rather than drawing unnecessary conjectures, I believe it would be best to have a properly trained individual take control of this case."
Meiya's words were entirely reasonable. At least, for someone trying to hide the traces of their bodily functions. Of course, Azadin himself was a herald of the emperor, someone trained in investigation.
Heralds of the emperor were not only trained in all forms of martial arts but also studied and memorized various case studies, including accidents, murders, and crimes. However, since he was dealing with a holy knight of the king's church, he couldn't exactly reveal his identity as a herald.
At that moment, Midiam stepped forward in Azadin's stead.
"That well-trained individual was trapped in the warehouse and would have remained inside if we hadn't come. Are you really in a position to take charge of the investigation? How about letting us take responsibility for this case and following our lead this time?"
"..."
When her captivity was subtly pointed out, the executive knight fell silent. She was left speechless, forced to recall the humiliating memory.
"…Fine."
Meiya relented and allowed the party to investigate.
Azadin examined the interior. The warehouse also served as a food storage facility, and a large bathing tub filled with water was present. It seemed she had survived by drinking the water and consuming the stored provisions. Judging by the disarray, she had likely been trapped for about a day.
The door bore the marks of being struck with a blade, and a broken shortsword lay discarded nearby.
'So, this executive knight wasn't armed with just that ornamental mace.'
It appeared she had originally been equipped with a shortsword and shield but had been trapped inside the warehouse. She had likely attempted to break the door with the sword, only for it to snap in the process.
"Were you trapped for about a day?"
"Yes."
"And before that, the villagers were alive? So, the attack on the village occurred just as you got trapped. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
Meiya, after responding, glanced at the undead corpses strewn about, as if searching for something.
"Ah, by the way, did you perhaps see any other holy knights?"
"Other holy knights?"
"Yes. I was sent here by the bishop to subjugate the wyverns. Naturally, hunting beasts requires skilled hunters."
The Holy Knight Order had many trainee knights who needed to achieve merits to be officially knighted.
"As it happened, my father was in charge of training the trainee knights, so we came together to slay the wyverns."
"Your father?"
"Oh, yes. My father is also a holy knight of the church. We are a father-daughter pair, upholding the law of the king's church across generations!"
She puffed out her chest proudly.
'That's hardly something to be proud of.'
Azadin inwardly scoffed at her words. According to the rules, holy knights of the king's church were not supposed to have children. The reason why those who lost succession disputes were sent to the church was to prevent them from later reclaiming power by having children and rebuilding their influence.
To prevent such a scenario, in the past, knights were castrated upon taking vows. However, as the regulations of the Holy Knights loosened, the practice of castration was the first to be abolished. Consequently, some hedonistic knights indulged in pleasure and ended up fathering children. These illegitimate children were then absorbed into the church as well.
In other words, Meiya was a product of such an illegitimate lineage.
'If she had been born before her father took his vows, he wouldn't be a holy knight but a clergyman instead.'
A father-daughter duo serving as holy knights was, therefore, not something to boast about.
Azadin decided to ask about the appearances of her father and the trainee knights. Soon, he reached a conclusion.
'They were the ones I killed.'
The forest and the Sawmill village connected to the farm Azadin's group had left the previous day. It seemed the holy knights dispatched to hunt wyverns had shot arrows in the forest, accidentally killing a farmer. To cover up the incident, they slaughtered the entire farmstead. Then, when the remaining survivors tried to flee, they massacred them to erase all evidence.
That was when they encountered Azadin's party and met their demise.
Yet, one related individual still remained alive.
The executive knight of Salasma, Meiya, was none other than the daughter of Gazrek—the very man Azadin had slain.
"I don't know what happened, but my father was an outstanding holy knight. He was skilled in combat and carried himself with the utmost righteousness. There's no way he would have fallen to mere undead."
"Is that so?"
Azadin let out a small laugh.
Certainly, Gazrek had been quite a formidable opponent. Though Azadin had taken him down through an ambush, if they had fought head-on, he might have been quite a troublesome adversary.
But was he truly a great holy knight?
'If he were a great holy knight, he wouldn't have had a daughter.'
How could someone who broke the rules and fathered an illegitimate child be considered a great holy knight?
Moreover, from what Azadin had witnessed, Gazrek and his men had mistakenly shot and killed a civilian, then, to cover up the incident, had resorted to massacring all the civilians present.
It seemed that familial ties made her biased in his favor, but no matter how one looked at it, there was no way they were great holy knights.
'He might have been a great father, but, hmm, I should keep my mouth shut. If I get tangled up with this woman and she finds out I'm her father's killer, it'll be a real headache.'
So, he decided to send her away for a while.
"Is your weapon and equipment with your horse? I didn't see your horse among the undead. If you don't mind, why don't you join the merchants and knights in scouting the area while searching for your horse? You might even find your companions."
"Then what about you?"
"We will continue investigating this warehouse and the village."
With that, Azadin sent the holy knight away on a scouting mission.
***
Azadin continued investigating the warehouse but found nothing unusual.
"What do we do now?"
Midiam asked.
"Should we use this Sawmill as a base and gradually explore the surroundings? Or should we follow the other merchants and retrace our steps to leave?"
"We'll use the Sawmill as our base. If what happened here was caused by a living mage, then they would need food and water supplies."
"And what if it wasn't? Usually, black magic-related incidents occur when someone dies with a grudge and becomes a vengeful spirit."
For a living person to use black magic, they would need both training and talent, but once someone became a wraith, they could immediately fulfill the requirements for black magic, making such catastrophes typically the work of vengeful spirits.
"In that case, do we have to keep pretending to be helpless children? That would be quite a burden on you."
Midiam was thinking about the female holy knight.
Azadin had forbidden Midiam and Ismail from using their bows. If children were seen handling such powerful bows, their identity as members of the herald clan would be instantly exposed.
They had to hide this fact from the merchants, and even more so from a holy knight. But that wasn't the only concern.
"If the perpetrator behind all this is human, then that person is likely…"
"That's right."
Midiam and Azadin had already formed a rough idea of who was responsible for what had happened here.
***
Black magic catastrophes were usually caused by vengeful spirits. Those who had suffered great injustices in life, had been killed without proper burial, or had been secretly buried often returned as malevolent spirits. Most of these spirits were only capable of causing minor curses or spiritual disturbances.
However, in rare cases, some exhibited such immense power that they could truly be considered catastrophes. If this was indeed such a black magic catastrophe, the most likely candidate was a woman from the herald clan who had been enslaved.
She must have been murdered and returned as a vengeful spirit.
"Whether she became a wraith after death or learned black magic while still alive, we don't know, but the latter possibility…"
"The latter is not entirely impossible."
Azadin cited past cases as examples.
Black magic was more about innate talent than research. If she had inherited the herald clan's bloodline strongly and possessed the Beauty of Nature grimoire by birthright, then suddenly awakening to black magic and becoming a mage overnight wouldn't be out of the question.
"In that case, given your nature, wouldn't you want to try persuading her?"
"Why do you think that?"
"Because you value aesthetics. But if it were up to me, I'd just kill her. A tragic past and painful memories might be worth sympathizing with, but you can't use a broken pot just because you pity it. Buying a new one is always the cheaper option."
No matter how tragic a person's past was, there was no need to use a broken vessel out of pity. Once a person's mind shattered, it was nearly impossible to restore.
There were rare individuals who, even after enduring immense suffering, didn't lose themselves but instead became sharper and stronger. But most people, when broken, stayed broken. One could sympathize with their past, but trusting them was another matter entirely.
With that rationale, Midiam smiled.
"Still, if you do manage to persuade her, I'll respect you for it."