CH 58

They Knew Who She Was

A few days later, the departure of the 2nd time investigation team was decided earlier than expected.

Today, I was invited to the village chief’s house again for a preliminary meeting.

When I entered the already familiar room, I found one guest ahead of me. He was wearing a black vestments, a proof of his church affiliation. As I recall, black, which hides the color of blood, was only given to priests who could also fight.

She was holding a mithril staff in her hand, and although we could only see her back, the silhouette around her waist suggested that she was definitely a woman. I recognized her shiny brown hair.

「Sophie, is that you?」

The vestments-clad woman turned in response to the voice.

「I’ve decided to join you. Please take care of me.」

It was so natural that I almost nodded my head.

No, it’s not 『Please take care of me』!

「Why did you decide to join us?」

「It’s a request from Zelma-sama. She wants to ask for my help.」

「Requested by ……? Is that…?」

「Yes. She knows who I am.」

So, Zelma knew that Sophie was a former Saint and asked her to join.

She’s an aristocrat so she may have met the Saint or she could have contacted with the exiled Saint.

This is a dungeon where the undead appear, so the former Saint will be a powerful helper. It’s a more appropriate arrangement than having her serve at Yang’s tavern and inn. From my point of view, it would be nice to have a reassuring ally, but it’s not that simple.

「Are you sure about this? If the Pope finds out, we’ll be in trouble.」

As long as Sophie is living a quiet life, she may be overlooked, but if she is involved with the nobility, then it’s different.

It seems that she is trying to drag the Pope down with force. If that happens, she will not be able to live a peaceful life. The Pope would send his assassins. We will have to spend our days living in fear of the attack.

「Thank you for worrying about me. I knew you were a kind person, Lars-san.」

「I don’t care about me. What about you?」

I glared at Sophie with irritation at her lack of sense of urgency.

Then the answer came back quickly.

「The Erlers are making huge profits from Kurt. A part of it goes to the church, which is like a good customer for the Pope.」

So they had a good relationship with each other and their interests were aligned.

I’m beginning to see the story. Since they knew that a powerful undead would appear, the Erlers must have made a deal with the church beforehand.

The aristocrats have become able to trade with the Pope because he has strengthened his ties with power. Does that mean? ….

「They made a large donation and a promise to build a chapel for the church, right?」

That’s why you’re joining the investigation team.

I understand the logic, but I’m not convinced.

「Are you sure about that?」

「I can’t tolerate the existence of the undead myself, and I wanted to help Lars, so I’m not complaining. In fact, I’m rather motivated.」

Seeing Sophie talking with a smile on her face, my irritation increases even more.

Her ex-fiancee kicked her out and conveniently used her, how can she be so calm!

It was a situation where she could be forgiven for having a grudge or two.

If I were in the same position, I would never agree to it, and I would never allow it to affect my life after the breakup. If I were you, I’d fight it tooth and nail …… but I don’t think it’s right to force that feeling on Sophie.

［TN: Fight tooth and nail(meaning)= Fight very fiercely.］

Relax your whole body, switch your feelings, and sink your emotions.

It’s only someone else’s problem. There’s no point in getting emotional about it.

「Well, that’s good. Let’s do our best together.」

「Yes!」

I envied Sophie, who never lost her pure smile even though she was at the mercy of others’ malice. That’s how I feel about her.