Chapter 14 | The Assassin Befriends the Alam Karla
Were it true that the goddess used the Alam Karla to speak with the demon disguised as the hierarch, it’d be too critical to ignore.
Just as the Alam Karla was about to recount the story, her stomach growled.
“S-sorry. This is hardly the time for that…,” she said, holding her gut in embarrassment.
“Let’s have a light meal first. I’ll cook something. Do you have any foods you can’t eat?” I asked.
This was likely to be a long talk, so it was best to allow her to eat first. I needed to hear what she had to say, but gaining her trust was crucial, too. I didn’t want to push her too hard. Logically, she’d understand that the conversation was more important than her hunger, but it’d still leave her displeased. The heart did not follow reason.
“I can’t make you wait,” the girl replied.
“I’m hungry as well. Don’t worry about it.”
“Really? That would be great, then.”
“I’ve prepared the room over there for you. There’s a change of clothes ready, since I doubt you’ll be able to relax in that outfit. Feel free to change and rest until the food is ready.”
The Alam Karla looked down at what she was wearing. She was still in the thin dress that she’d donned for the purification ritual in the bathhouse.
“Th-thank you. I’ll be waiting there, then. Also, I can’t eat fish,” she said with a nod, and she walked into her room.
Thirty minutes later, I finished cooking and called the Alam Karla back. Her complexion looked much improved; she must have taken a nap. She’d changed into loose loungewear. Without her wig and makeup, she seemed like a completely different person.
“Here you are. Dig in,” I said as I set pancakes and hot chocolate on the table.
“Thank you very much. Wow, this is so sweet. The black drink is amazing. It warms you right up,” she praised.
“That’s called hot chocolate. It’s a special drink of mine.”
“It’s so, so good.”
“I’ll make more for you, then. You’ll be living in hiding for the next few days, after all.”
Hot chocolate calmed the mind and was very nutritional. It was the perfect drink for her right now.
“Is it okay for me to use this house?”
“This is the safest place for you. People I trust will deliver you supplies at regular intervals. You shouldn’t want for anything.”
The Alam Karla had work left to do in the Holy Land, and considering how I would be taking her in and out of this city, keeping her in a safe house carried the least risk. I explained that to her as we ate, and she nodded.
“I’m sorry for all the trouble I’m putting you through. Wow, these pancakes are incredible. They’re so light and fluffy; they’re the best I’ve ever eaten.”
This girl was one of the most important people in the world, but I didn’t feel that gravitas from her as she ate.
“I used a little trick of mine.”
The baking powder used to make bread and cakes rise didn’t exist in this world, but Natural You had just developed it. I kneaded baking powder and yogurt into the pancakes and went easy on the oil. That resulted in airy dough. Even someone who felt weak could enjoy a fluffy pancake.
I watched as she finished the pancakes and hot chocolate.
“Thank you for the food. I wouldn’t have thought such a delicious meal could be made on the run. You’re a good cook, Sir Lugh.”
“It’s a hobby. You’re looking much better already… Can we return to our conversation? What did the goddess say when she used your body to meet with the demon?”
“Honestly, I remember what they said, but I don’t know what Venus meant by any of it,” the Alam Karla replied, hanging her head apologetically.
“That’s good enough. Just tell me exactly what you heard.”
The girl’s own interpretations would only be a needless distraction. I could also imagine that the goddess used some intentionally strange phraseology, so it was best to hear her statement precisely.
“Okay, this is what Venus said: ‘I won’t interfere with you, so you don’t interfere with me. The promised day we have been eagerly awaiting is almost here. This hero is not being depleted enough.’ That’s all.”
“How did the demon respond?”
“He accepted the goddess’s proposal and said that he’d take measures regarding the hero… Then he demanded that the goddess abide by their neutrality.”
“Neutrality… That’s an interesting word. That’s how the demon sees Venus. Not as an enemy or an ally, but as a bystander.”
There were several things about the goddess’s statement that bothered me. What did she mean by “interfere”? What about the “promised day”? From the demons’ perspective, that could mean the resurrection of the Demon King, but I didn’t know why the goddess would look forward to that. And what about that comment regarding the hero being insufficiently depleted? That was likely due to me fighting demons in Epona’s place. The wording made the hero sound like a basic consumable.
It was also worth noting that the goddess was criticizing the lack of depletion. There was no way power that great didn’t come with a cost. I was interested to know what happened after depletion. If Epona lacked a high mana recovery rate like me and only possessed overwhelming instantaneous discharge without the ability to regain the strength she exerted, it’d be a valuable bit of knowledge in the event that I chose to kill her.
I’d need to do my best to gather more detailed information on those matters later.
“Thank you. That was helpful,” I said.
“I’m glad to hear it,” the Alam Karla responded.
“There’s one more thing I don’t understand. Why did you say that you feared for your life? Nothing that Venus and the demon said suggested that your life is in danger.”
That conversation never involved the Alam Karla.
“The hierarch has been threatening me even before I learned that he is a demon. He demanded I convey his words to the people as the goddess’s. He threatened to kill me if I disobeyed, saying he’d find an Alam Karla who’d listen. I remained steadfast in my refusal and prayed for Venus’s aid. But she did nothing to help!”
In all probability, the goddess had no interest in the Alam Karla, or rather, in the girl named Myrrha. There were plenty of viable replacements. The goddess was functionally a mechanism to maintain the world; she had no emotional attachment to individuals. That applied to me as well. If the goddess found someone more useful, she’d abandon me without a second thought.
“She didn’t mention me when she talked to the demon, either… That was when I realized Venus would not save me. Yesterday, the hierarch killed one of my attendants and said that I was next… So I gave in. I spoke the demon’s words as the those of the goddess this morning.” Myrrha began to cry.
I’d been just barely too late.
“What did you say?”
“I stated in front of everyone that the goddess has never spoken to you. I was scared. I didn’t want to die, or worse, lose my status as the Alam Karla… I can’t go back to my old life. I don’t want to be miserable scum again. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry…”
Myrrha hugged herself as tears streamed down her face. Her nails dug into her skin, scratching off white dye that didn’t come away earlier.
“You’ve done well to make it this far,” I assured her.
“Aren’t you mad? I ruined you out of fear for my own life.”
She was right about that. The demon had prepared a trap by summoning me to the Holy Land and then having the Alam Karla denounce my connection to the goddess. I’d already fallen from my place of reverence in society to a despicable person who’d misappropriated the goddess’s name. My inquisition would undoubtedly begin the moment I officially arrived in the Holy Land.
“It’s not your fault; it’s the demon’s. It forced you into it.”
“Even still, I…”
“If you feel guilt, lend me your hand. I plan to charge right into the demon’s trap. I’m going to attend the trial.”
I was going to break through the demon’s trap head-on.
“That’s suicide. It’s a trial only in name. You will be convicted, and they don’t intend to listen to your argument at all.”
Naturally, I was aware of that. That’s how religion worked. People in power placed great importance on their images, and that tendency was even stronger in religious leaders. One of them would never admit a mistake, nor could they afford to. Guilt was decided the moment an accusation was made. Those blamed had to be guilty, or the leader’s credibility would take a hit.
That didn’t just apply to the hierarch; everyone involved in the inquisition would feel the same way. I had no chance of winning, no matter how well I defended myself.
“Typically, you’d be right. But my defense will be anything but typical. If I have the aid of the goddess’s true representative, I can win. I guarantee you that the hierarch has already prepared your successor. You’re not the Alam Karla any longer. The church will make no attempts to rescue you. In fact, they’ll likely send an assassin.”
It suited the demon better to find a new Alam Karla than to deal with a troublesome old one. Whether she could hear the goddess’s voice or not didn’t actually matter to the church. The hierarch could appoint any puppet, and the people would accept it as long as he claimed she was an oracle. None could confirm it other than the Alam Karla herself, after all.
“Huh? I—I…”
Myrrha probably hadn’t thought that far ahead when she fled with me. She never doubted her own value and overestimated what it meant that she heard the goddess’s voice. If she’d known things would turn out like this, she might have rejected my help.
I was cornering her this way on purpose. I’d come to realize through our conversation that the Alam Karla was a very headstrong person. She apologized for causing me trouble, but she didn’t show a hint of guilt until doing so. If she were indeed the tenderhearted young woman she appeared to be, she would have felt shame the moment she saw me, and it would have shown in her behavior.
And yet, I detected no remorse until after her apology. That was proof that she was putting on a performance. Her guilt was a calculated attempt to win my sympathy and forgiveness.
“You tried to protect me after being threatened with death. I couldn’t ask for more,” I said with a smile. Despite everything I’d realized about Myrrha, I pretended that her act had achieved the desired effect.
It was worth noting that Myrrha hadn’t first refused to give the false message for my sake. She did so to protect her value as the goddess’s oracle. She knew instinctively that the Alam Karla’s worth declined every time she lied, and she was also afraid of displeasing her patron deity.
Lying was easy, yet the moment she did so, the role of the Alam Karla became a position that anyone in the world could fill. The nature of the job required Myrrha to continue delivering the goddess’s words genuinely.
That means she is driven by self-interest. My best bet at convincing her was not by appealing with emotion, but rather by showing how my plan would benefit her. I needed to tell her that I would eliminate the hierarch, who had become an obstacle for her, and create an environment that enabled her to maintain her position as the Alam Karla.
So that was what I was doing. This kind of person was very easy to handle.
“If you want to be the Alam Karla again, your only option is to attend the inquisition with me and take down the impostor in the hierarch’s place. I’ve made all the necessary preparations to make that happen.”
It was problematic that the Alam Karla had already denounced me, but I’d accounted for that scenario. I had a way to strike back, and I’d laid the necessary groundwork for a counter.
“Very well. I will fight. Both to atone for my sins and for myself… I really do want to remain the Alam Karla.”
That surprised me. I didn’t expect Myrrha to voice her true motivations.
I smiled kindly and put my hands on her shoulders. “That’s the resolve I want to see. Let’s do this together.”
“Okay!”
It would have been ill-advised even for me to defend myself at the inquisition without the genuine Alam Karla at hand. I was glad I had gained her cooperation. This increased my options significantly.
The first phase of my plan was to spread a rumor that the goddess took the Alam Karla. I wanted people to think the gossip originated with her attendants. That message left in lipstick was our lifeline. Without it, I likely would’ve been saddled with the crime of killing the Alam Karla.
Hopefully, Nevan was taking care of the job I’d tasked her with. I couldn’t believe she could sneak intelligence agents into the cathedral. House Romalung never ceased to amaze. It would’ve been impossible to abduct the Alam Karla and spread word of the message before it was erased without their assistance.
In a sense, this was a battle. I was going to treat it like an all-out war.
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