CH 594

The remains in the Tomb of the Saints were not stolen, but rather, it became highly likely that someone had resurrected them as undead and then disappeared.

Thanks to Ludwig's intuition, Ellen, who discovered this crucial fact, asked the Holy Knight in charge of guiding them.

"Did the Holy Knights Order know about this?"

"..."

"You did know."

Silence serves as an answer.

However, it wasn't possible to question them about why they had lied by keeping this secret.

The fact that these individuals, who had been elevated to sainthood, had become undead would undoubtedly be seen as an insult and a fatal blemish on the reputation of the Five Great Religions.

No one would have wanted this truth to be known, even if it was the hero herself.

"It's not certain. It's just a conjecture at this point."

"I suppose so."

Eleion Bolton would not have wanted Ellen to know about this. But inadvertently, Ellen had intended to stop there, but Ludwig unexpectedly got to the truth.

The Holy Knights Order knew.

But they had to keep it a secret since it couldn't be publicly disclosed.

Eleion Bolton could not stop Ellen, but the reason for hiding the truth must have been that.

"Are you hiding anything else?"

"No."

But Ellen couldn't believe that either.

"Let's go."

There's nothing more to learn from this place.

------

After leaving the Holy Knight's Cathedral, the four of them continued walking through the snow-swept streets.

"Let's head back to the temple and think this through. The Holy Knights aren't going to help us properly."

"I might be a hindrance. I'm sorry."

It would have been different if it were just Ellen, but Louise von Schwarz was also present.

A very serious problem had arisen within the Holy Knights Order, and not only the hero but also the heir to Kernstadt had learned about this critical truth.

No wonder Eleion Bolton had been uncooperative with Ellen.

"No, you've been helpful enough. No one could have easily touched Ludwig, no matter who they were."

Ludwig's safety was clearly secured politically. Even if Louise couldn't provide direct help, her presence was helpful.

Ellen reviewed the situation.

"The Holy Knight Order knew from the beginning that they weren't just ordinary thieves, but a group involving mages. Rowan must have known the same."

"The Order's leader said that Rowan didn't share the investigation results after he returned and that he didn't know what Rowan was doing. But I can't be sure if that's true."

"It's not entirely impossible that the leader is telling the truth. The administration of the Five Great Religions and the Holy Knight Order was overseen by the five Popes, and if the Pope personally directed it, Rowan wouldn't have had to report to the leader."

"Anyway, Rowan must have investigated the case while knowing about the connection between the undead and the mages. It makes sense that he focused on heretics and cultists."

"While pursuing the case, Rowan must have stepped on the toes of those involved, leading to her assassination. That's at least what we know so far."

"We can't be certain if they are really cultists, though."

"And why on earth did they approach Ludwig?... I don't know. It seems unrelated to this case. They were targeting me, and their intentions are likely unrelated to this case. That's what I think."

There were many truths yet to be discovered.

But ultimately, they couldn't reach the most important core of the matter.

They could somewhat deduce why Rowan was killed.

They weren't sure who killed her, but the list of suspects was narrowing.

However, where were they?

The simpler the case, the harder it was to find the truth; the more complex the case, the easier it was to reach the truth.

But now, they only had complex clues, and they didn't know where those clues pointed.

They couldn't distinguish between meaningful and meaningless clues, so they couldn't draw any conclusions as they had to consider everything.

"Could it be the work of the Demon God Cult...?"

Ludwig cautiously suggested.

"The fact that they revived the bones and killed the priest...”

Ludwig hesitated as he looked at Ellen.

"Could it have been... the Demon King?”

"..."

At that question, Ellen's eyes widened, and so did Louise's and Heinrich's.

Louise had heard from Heinrich today that the Demon King might not be such a wicked being and that there might be an unknown truth behind the Gate incident.

The Demon God Cult and the Demon King had an inseparable relationship.

Either the Demon God Cult acted on the Demon King's orders, or the Demon King himself infiltrated the saints' tomb, revived the bones as undead, and then disappeared.

Ellen felt a splitting headache coming on again.

Reinhardt couldn't have done such a thing; Ellen gritted her teeth and tried to endure the pain.

"The possibility is low."

"Is that so...?"

It wasn't Ellen who shook her head at Ludwig's suspicion, but Louise.

"None of us know where the Demon King is, right?"

"Yes..."

"Even if we knew that the Demon King did this, could we find where he is and punish him?"

At Louise's words, Ludwig dumbly nodded.

"You're right..."

"What reason would the Demon King have to kill the priest? Whether his deeds are exposed or not, no one knows where he is."

"Ah..."

"So there's no reason for the Demon King to risk attacking the church and killing everyone there."

If the Demon King had revived the bones in the underground tomb.

And if Rowan had been killed while investigating the case.

The logical conclusion would be that the Demon King killed Rowan.

But the Demon King would have to have a reason to kill Rowan.

There's no reason for the Demon King to hunt down and kill Rowan, an Inquisitor who pursued him.

The same goes for infamy.

Even if it were known that the Demon King had revived the saints' bones in the Holy Knights' underground tomb, there would be no harm to him.

What would it matter if the story of reviving a few corpses spread when he was already blamed for the Gate incident?

There's no reason or meaning for the Demon King to kill Rowan, so it's unlikely.

The wrong conclusion was reached.

The Demon King has no reason to kill Rowan. So he wouldn't have done it.

Those who killed Rowan were the tomb raiders in the underground tomb of the Holy Knights.

So the wrong conclusion that the Demon King wasn't involved in the tomb raiding incident was formed.

"That's right. The Demon King... there's no benefit for him in killing Rowan. Rather, it's a risk he would take just by infiltrating the Empire and doing such a thing."

Enduring a headache, Ellen barely spoke, sharing the same thoughts as Louise.

It wasn't because they trusted Reinhardt.

In fact, thinking objectively, Reinhardt had no reason to kill Rowan.

The crime scene was ostentatious.

It was as if daring someone to catch the culprit.

If that were the only event, it might have been suspected to be the work of the Demon King.

But with Rowan, who had been tracking the case, being killed, the possibility of it being the Demon King's doing became infinitely low.

The conclusion Louise and Ellen reached was undoubtedly the most rational judgment.

However, the world was often far from rational.

That's why the probability of a rational judgment being wrong was always high.

------

Ellen said that if it were a simple case, she wouldn't be able to find anything out.

Only if it were complicated, strange, and had something hidden, there might be something she could uncover.

However, the case concealed far-reaching roots, and those roots were not fully exposed.

The priestess performing the purification was the leader of the Inquisitors.

That Inquisitor was investigating the whereabouts of the stolen bones and the culprit while capturing and torturing heretics.

And the bones were not actually stolen, but there was a high possibility that they were revived as undead.

Ultimately, they couldn't resolve everything overnight.

Even though the name of the Demon King was mentioned, Louise and Ellen judged that the possibility of the Demon King being involved in the case was extremely low, and Ludwig, who had raised doubts, had no choice but to agree.

On the way back to the Royal Class dormitory after returning to the temple.

Ludwig's expression remained stern.

Regardless of who was involved and what the truth of the case was, the fact that Ludwig had been deceived by Rowan all this time didn't change.

He didn't know what she was doing or what her intentions were when approaching him, and he hadn't even doubted her.

He was terrified and horrified by the guards killing civilians indiscriminately.

So, when Rowan appeared, he was overjoyed.

Because he thought it was something everyone needed, he did it without any hesitation.

And when Rowan asked if he could continue protecting her in the future.

Ludwig felt as if he had been saved.

But Rowan was an Inquisitor, committing atrocities far worse than those of the guards.

There was no telling how many people had been tortured and killed at her hands.

Ludwig didn't know that.

Even though he could see from Rowan's strange behavior that she was a person who deviated from the norm.

He still believed she was a good person because she was doing something people needed.

To be precise, he wanted to believe that Rowan was a good person, so he believed it.

Ludwig was naive.

Rowan had known Ludwig even before they met, and eventually, she was killed before achieving her goal through Ludwig.

But if Rowan hadn't been killed, she would have achieved her goal through Ludwig.

Whether it was killing Ellen to eliminate the Hero Religion, or something else.

If Rowan had approached Ludwig with the intention of killing Ellen?

Rowan's death might have been a blessing in disguise.

On the way back to the temple.

Ludwig hated his own weakness.

Disillusionment with himself.

Hatred.

Anger.

He thought it was getting better as he met Rowan.

However, Ludwig could not recognize anything about Rowan and, in fact, ended up being deceived.

The comfort and stability obtained through Rowan plunged Ludwig deeper into the abyss.

In reality, nothing happened through Rowan, but both Ellen and Louise had an intuition that Rowan was suspicious, even though they knew nothing about her. They even felt that Rowan was not an ordinary priestess, despite having been killed.

Ludwig had only thought of Rowan as an unfortunate victim.

He was foolish and naive.

"..."

Now, Ludwig could not help but hate his own foolishness.

Walking ahead, Ellen speaks.

"We have to assume that there may be a mage among the refugees who follow the Demon God Cult. However, there is also the possibility that dark mages are involved instead. That possibility may even be higher."

Depending on who the suspected culprits were, the situation could change drastically.

For now, the Demon King was excluded from the list of suspects.

The forces of the Demon God Cult, who may be hiding in the refugee camp.

Or mages who include dark mages.

If the culprits were the followers of the Demon God Cult, they must investigate the spread of these followers in the refugee camp.

They wouldn't torture and kill civilians, but there were limitations in investigations.

Leaving aside the cruelty of torture, there was no better way to obtain information. Torture could even extract information that doesn't exist.

If dark mages were involved, they must secure evidence of their involvement.

"Will we be able to resolve this before winter passes......?"

Ellen sighed deeply as she looked up at the sky.

If the Demon God Cult followers were rooted in the vast refugee camp and disguised themselves as the Hero Religion?

"Even if the followers of the Demon God Cult are not involved in this matter, if they are rooted in the refugee camp wearing the skin of the Hero Religion, we still need to identify them."

"......That's true."

That was the problem.

Whether or not they were involved, the followers of the Demon God Cult should not exist in the Imperial Capital.

Even if they had nothing to do with Rowan's case, finding them was a necessary task.

Rowan had told Ludwig that she was doing two things at once.

While purifying diseases, she would investigate and address the suspicious events occurring in the refugee camp.

Rowan's purification work was not fake.

While actually purifying diseases, she would interrogate, torture, and kill any heretics she found.

Doing two things at once.

While helping people, she intended to eradicate all the followers of the Demon God Cult.

Rowan had already subtly revealed that she was a heretic inquisitor, but Ludwig hadn't known.

"It's a completely different issue, but there's a problem we need to think about."

This time, Ellen looks at Louise as she speaks.

It was Louise, not Heinrich or Ludwig.

"What is it?"

"The Commander of the Holy Knights kept giving hints. I don't think it's a misunderstanding."

"Hints?"

"He was overly cautious with his words. Of course, it could be because I was present, the case is sensitive, and the commander was with us as well, but......"

Ellen continues.

"If the Pope of the Holy Church has something to hide from him, he said he wouldn't know anything."

"..."

Louise remains silent at Ellen's words.

It wasn't that she had nothing to say, but she was choosing her words carefully.

However, Eleion Bolton had deliberately concealed information from Ellen, but ultimately, he left her free to witness the scene with her own eyes, as there was no stopping her.

"When countries unite, an empire is formed, and an emperor is created. But in the Holy Knights Order, created by the union of the five major holy religions, he claims he is not an emperor," Ellen noted.

Not every emperor in history was stronger than all the kings or feudal lords under their rule.

However, the emperor of the Gardias Empire truly ruled all of humanity's land, wielding more power than any king on the continent.

But the leader of the Holy Knights Order, the commander of the order, was just that - a commander, not a king or anything else.

"Eleion Bolton is not the kind of person who would make such a statement out of a desire for more power than the Popes."

Louise wasn't particularly close to the current Holy Knights Order Commander Eleion Bolton, but she knew enough about him. His support for the empire was not because he was a slave to the empire but because of his desire to maintain the status quo.

He didn't want significant changes in the first place.

So, it's unlikely that he suddenly developed an ambition for power, held a grudge against the five major religions' Popes, and spoke to Ellen for that reason.

"The Popes are deliberately hiding something from the commander, and he doesn't have the authority to find out what it is. He hinted that to me."

Eleion Bolton didn't provide any definite information.

He merely said that if the Popes were hiding something, he wouldn't know.

"But this is an internal issue within the Holy Knights Order. I don't see how it relates to Rowan's case. So I think it will take a lot of consideration before I approach the Popes."

While Ellen could intervene in any human power struggle, she didn't want to meddle excessively in the Holy Knights Order's internal affairs. It was a political matter, and Ellen knew better than to tamper with it recklessly.

In the end, her perspective aligned with Ludwig's.

It's easy to intervene when people are dying, sacrificed, or monsters appear.

But if Ellen suddenly appeared at a conference of the Five Great Religions' Popes and told them to treat the commander as if he were their superior, predicting the outcome of that would be difficult, regardless of its feasibility.

It could be the best course of action, but it could also be the worst.

"If this is merely a power struggle between the commander and the Popes of the Five Great Religions, it's not our concern."

"That's right."

"But if the Popes are involved in this case... I don't know what to do."

It was too dangerous a matter to touch.

It may be unrelated to the case, but if it were, they couldn't afford to ignore it.

"What a headache..."

The Popes of the Five Great Religions might know what even the commander of the Holy Knights Order doesn't.

They were already deeply involved in the internal affairs of the Order, and they didn't know if they would get entangled in even more complex matters from here on.