novelraw Chapter 216 : The Saintess (7)
Chapter 216 : The Saintess (7)
TN: I’m back! Apologies for the unannounced hiatus. I’ll be posting consistently again — 5 times a week.
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If I were to explain the reason for the Saintess's death in my previous life, I could probably tell all sorts of stories.
But in truth, the most 'fundamental' reason was that she herself wanted to die.
Of course, this wasn't to say other factors weren't important at all.
But if the Saintess herself hadn't wanted the execution, she could have resisted as much as she wanted.
Beyond using her influence to overturn the Order's decision, it wouldn't have been impossible for her to cause a direct armed conflict.
Now, their numbers have dwindled after such a long time, but back when the Saintess was first convicted of blasphemy, she had plenty of followers.
If she had taken action to lead them in rebellion against the Order or to leave for another region, it would have been, frankly, quite possible.
The Saintess's influence was, just as it appeared on the surface, at the 'highest level since the founding'.
So, in conclusion, the Saintess's death was not something forced upon her by someone else, but something she chose for herself.
However.
To speak of a slightly deeper 'truth'.
There was a mastermind who made the Saintess make such a 'choice'.
“…I think it's called the gaslighting effect.”
“……”
“I'm not entirely sure. Anyway, that man specializes in it. Manipulating the surroundings to inject strange ideas into people's minds.”
Of course, U-jin couldn't present any physical evidence in front of the Saintess.
Isaac Einstein wasn't the type to leave such things behind in the first place, and his uniquely cunning schemes were difficult to explain with words alone.
But despite that, U-jin was certain.
There were too many similarities between Isaac Einstein's unique methods he had experienced in his past life, the process of the Saintess's execution, and the events that followed.
“You said your followers started an armed protest, right?”
“……”
“Have you ever confirmed it yourself?”
She hadn't.
No, to begin with, people who followed her existed in every city and town, but the criteria for the word 'follower' were ambiguous.
“Did that person have a tattoo of you on their back or something?”
The story that the Saintess's followers had started an armed protest was well-known to the public.
At a glance, it might have seemed plausible, but upon careful consideration, it was quite strange.
If U-jin were someone who truly desired and wished for the Saintess, he would never have used her name so openly, fearing it might bring her harm.
It was so obvious that it wasn't for the Saintess's sake that even a passing child would know.
Even if they decided to use force, it would have been in a direct and decisive manner, like breaking the Saintess out.
It was strange to use a method of vaguely harassing the Order, saying, 'We'll keep causing trouble if you don't release the Saintess.'
Of course, this didn't mean that the Saintess's followers didn't exist.
There were plenty of followers of the Saintess.
However, the fact that no one had contacted the Saintess until now meant that there was at least no organization formed by them.
Besides.
“If I were a follower, rather than gathering a bunch of nobodies, I probably would have gone to Leonardo Louis Button.”
“……!”
There was a man who was a more ardent devotee of the Saintess than anyone else, and who held a considerable position within the Order.
As the head of the Exorcists and a high-ranking priest holding the title of 'Inquisitor', it would have been a much faster path to seek him out rather than struggling amongst themselves.
If you were to line up everyone who wished for the Saintess's release, Leonardo Louis Button would be standing quite near the front.
It might be a different story if Leonardo Louis Button himself had founded and was running an organization of followers to free the Saintess.
But the idea that such an organization could be created and operated without Leonardo Louis Button's knowledge was utterly preposterous.
In other words.
“…It's all Isaac's scheme.”
All this time, the ones who went around using the Saintess's name, claiming to be followers, were part of a scheme by Isaac Einstein.
It was to implant in her the thought that 'because of me, signs of division are appearing in the Order.'
Ultimately, it was to create the notion that her own execution was the only way to completely block these signs of division at their source.
That wasn't all.
“And there's no such thing as a Black Mutation.”
“…Pardon?”
“It's not that a demon's true nature is revealed the moment it touches your body; the demons revealed it on purpose.”
“……”
“To implant the 'perception' that a demon's unique characteristics are neutralized by your body.”
He had no physical evidence to present for this part either.
After all, the Black Mutation was a definite phenomenon that could be confirmed at any time in the present.
He wasn't saying something non-existent existed; could there be any greater sophistry than saying something that exists does not?
However, U-jin had circumstantial evidence that was more certain than anything else.
Namely.
His pre-regression experience.
“In the first timeline, 108 holy relics were made from your bones.”
“……!”
“They were experimentally distributed to the Exorcists to distinguish the Demonic Species, and for one week, they hunted down Demonic Species with gusto. The Exorcists already had a list to track those suspected of being Demonic Species.”
“……”
“But it didn't even last a full week.”
“……!”
“Whether they created a new version of the Demonic Species or if it was something else, I don't know the exact mechanism they used, but in less than a week, the relics immediately lost their effectiveness.”
He remembered it clearly because it was a story he had heard from Leonardo Louis Button until he was sick of it.
Leonardo had blamed himself over and over, saying that if he had known, he would have at least buried her in a sunny place.
And above all.
“Besides, as I mentioned in passing earlier.”
The Northern Subjugation War.
“In the upcoming Northern Subjugation War, the Order will suffer a great defeat.”
“……!”
“The whole thing is Isaac's trap.”
The Northern Subjugation War itself was a cunning trap devised by Isaac Einstein.
Of course, the Northern Subjugation War was an all-out subjugation effort requiring a massive force of over one-fifth of the Order's total military power.
One might question if a trap of such a large scale could exist, but it was indeed possible.
In his past life, the moment the Order began to teeter and lose its balance was right after their defeat in the Northern Subjugation War.
In the first place, it was an open secret that the Order was planning the Northern Subjugation War itself.
As it was the region where the most Constellations had been hunted, the justification of reclaiming lost territory was sufficient, and thanks to it once being Order Territory, they had far more information on it compared to other unexplored lands outside the Order's domain or the Demon King's Territory.
Besides that, looking at the state of the War against Demons, the North seemed to have the highest chance of victory compared to launching a subjugation in any other region.
If the Order were to launch a subjugation war around this time, the 'North' was bound to be the most likely candidate.
…The problem was that all of it was 'induced' by Isaac Einstein.
“Furthermore, at this point in time, there is a Demon King's Army that the Order is not aware of.”
“……”
“A considerable number of the regions the Order identifies as 'unexplored lands' have been incorporated into the Demon King's Army's territory. If we were to fight an all-out war right now, taking all those forces into account……”
“……”
“The odds would probably be about 6:4.”
In the logic of war, 'defending a castle' was always far more advantageous than 'besieging one'.
With their forces already outnumbered, launching an offensive siege was a surefire way to be defeated.
…Of course, it was likely carried out because it wasn't confirmed in the Order's data.
In any case, that was the result U-jin had experienced in his previous life.
“……”
The Saintess, too, seemed to have no 'objections'.
It was understandable.
The hypothesis U-jin presented was so well-structured that even she could feel the puzzle pieces fitting perfectly together.
Having experienced Isaac Einstein's schemes countless times during his days in the Suicide Squad, U-jin was now familiar with them to the point of disgust.
This was the conclusion U-jin had reached after endless deliberation.
Of course, if asked for physical proof, he couldn't provide any.
The basis for most of his logic was rooted in the unseen place called the 'past life'.
If she were to insist she didn't believe in 'Regression', U-jin would have nothing more to say.
However.
…He had a strong suspicion.
【Oh, and there was one more thing I wanted to say. A gift will be heading your way soon, junior.】
These were the words Isaac Einstein had spoken through the Succubus he met in the Darkest Dungeon.
【I don't know your exact plan, junior, but you'll probably have a hard time because of it. There aren't many things I've put that much effort into.】
If U-jin's intuition wasn't wrong, he was definitely talking about the 'Saintess Hunting Project'.
That was the only major incident that would happen around this time.
Besides, throughout his entire past life, there were only a few things Isaac Einstein could boast about having 'put effort into'.
【It was originally supposed to take a bit more time... but I wanted to see how you'd react, junior, so I moved it up a little. Please accept it well.】
U-jin asked the silent Saintess.
“…Even after all this, do you still think you have to die?”
At this point, from U-jin's perspective, he had done everything he could.
Having already spoken of his Regression, there was nothing more for him to reveal in front of the Saintess.
If, even after all this, the Saintess rejected his offer to escape and chose to go to her execution, U-jin had no reason to cling to her any longer.
If her will was that strong, it would be difficult to get any meaningful help from her even if he took her to the Guild House.
He had spent time coming here, but for U-jin, taking responsibility for the Saintess while under the added pressure of Isaac Einstein's interference was a risk.
The very fact that he had been conflicted meant that when weighing the pros and cons of the two options, they were so evenly matched it was hard to determine which was superior.
His situation wasn't leisurely enough to take on all that risk and bring along a useless person just for the sake of a 'plan'.
If not, then not.
“……”
A clear answer did not come forth.
The Saintess, instead of answering U-jin, slowly met his gaze.
And then.
She gestured with her chin, as if telling him to come closer.
Step, step—
Thud.
U-jin took a few steps forward, stopping before the cross to look up at her.
—Da…
She muttered a single word in a small voice.
‘…What is she saying?’
It was a very small, faint voice that didn't reach where Loxy was standing.
A voice so quiet, one had to wonder if even U-jin, standing right in front of her, could hear it.
And the face of the Saintess who had uttered that single word was adorned with an infinitely benevolent smile.
“……”
U-jin's face was stiffer than ever before.