How the Cult Saves the World

The moment I answered Cedric, the quest updated.

[Sub Quest 'The Herpheon Emperor's Request' 2. <Find the Rebel Forces!>

Content: You have made contact with the Herpheon Emperor's aide, Second Prince Cedric Herpheon. Help him and find traces of the rebel forces.

Objective: Locate the rebel forces' headquarters within 48 hours (This quest is a linked quest)

Final Success Reward: ???

Upon Success: Discover next quest trace

Upon Failure: -]

[Will you accept?]

[Yes / No]

The quest had updated, so I quickly skimmed the contents and accepted immediately.

"Then all that remains is finding the rebel forces."

At that, Terdius, who had been silently listening behind me, opened his mouth. As he spoke, Cedric gave a start.

'He's still frightened of Terdius.'

Being the former Apostle of Diego and moreover an Inquisitor, he seemed to evoke even more fear. Even though Terdius was now fully part of Kyros Church.

"Ah, yes. That's correct."

Cedric forced himself to calm down and spoke.

He seemed to be trying to smile so as not to show he was afraid, but unfortunately he had little talent for concealing his expressions.

'He'll need some degree of acting ability to become a good emperor someday.'

Well, that was an ability he'd need far in the future, anyway.

"So are the three of us moving together?"

Terdius asked Cedric.

At that, Cedric's expression stiffened slightly.

He tried to smile as he replied.

"Ah, for now... yes, that's right."

"Your Highness the Second Prince. Does that mean you have no people you can command?"

Terdius was clearly asking out of genuine curiosity with no ill feeling. But even so, his words were dealing Cedric quite a blow.

"Th, that is not so. However, it will take time for them to join us. Getting out of the Imperial Palace was quite difficult for me as well."

Cedric answered with an awkward expression at Terdius's question.

He didn't bother to add exactly why it had been difficult to leave the palace. But neither I nor Terdius had any intention of asking in detail. We already had our suspicions.

'Diego Church's people would have put surveillance on him.'

Diego Church would have seized control over most of the forces within the Imperial Palace, but the Emperor and the Second Prince were the two it could not bring to its side.

The Emperor was firm in her convictions, and the Second Prince was the sole person she was protecting.

'The Second Prince could have been forcibly taken into Diego Church's hands...'

But Diego Church didn't bother to do that. Since in their eyes the Second Prince wasn't of much use.

"Anyway. Understood."

Having finished my thoughts, I smiled at Cedric and spoke. At that, his expression eased a little.

"Since immediate reinforcements are difficult, ultimately the three of us must find the location of the rebel forces' base, correct?"

"Ah, yes. Church Leader. That's right."

"Then let's split into two teams to move more efficiently."

"Ah, yes. Then I and the Church Leader together..."

Cedric looked at me with a hopeful expression as he spoke. But unfortunately, I shook my head.

"No. It would be better to travel with Brother Terdius rather than with me."

"W, what?"

Cedric's eyes went wide at my suggestion. Terdius, on the other hand, showed no particular reaction to my unilateral decision.

Rather than insisting, I simply added a brief explanation to the visibly startled prince.

"Because Brother Terdius's combat ability is stronger than mine. Should any situation arise, he will protect Your Highness the Second Prince."

"Y, yes but..."

"And Brother Terdius and I, under Lord Kyros's blessing, can communicate with each other even when far apart — so should you have anything to say to me, you can tell Brother Terdius at any time."

"I, Church Leader — even so, I want to travel with you."

Despite my clear explanation, Cedric clearly found the prospect of traveling with Terdius truly unpleasant. His desperate expression was pitiable, but—

'Even so... moving alone is more convenient for me.'

Moreover, protecting the Second Prince was better suited to Terdius than to me. He was more sensitive and had a sharper sense of ki. So at the moment I was about to open my mouth to persuade Cedric as best I could—

"You shall travel with me, Your Highness the Second Prince. That would be more beneficial."

Terdius, as if reading my thoughts, spoke to Cedric. At that, for just an instant, Cedric's eyes widened slightly before returning to normal.

'Look at that. He can't bring himself to say anything back to Terdius.'

Well — the Second Prince Cedric would have crossed paths with Terdius several times within the Imperial Palace, and he would have frequently heard rumors about Terdius in that place that was practically Diego Church's stronghold.

'I recall there was a rumor along the lines of: the merciless Inquisitor who knows neither blood nor tears — or something like that.'

I recalled Rawin having told me that. Could he really be this frightened over such a thing?

In any case, I had no intention of reversing my decision. Having more or less sorted things out, I rose from my seat.

"Then Brother Terdius, I'll leave the Second Prince in your care."

"Of course."

"Your Highness the Second Prince, should something happen or should you want to speak with me, please tell Brother Terdius at any time."

When I gave that reminder once more, Cedric nodded with a dazed expression, with great effort. After that I conveyed to Terdius with my eyes to take good care of the Second Prince, then stepped out of the inn room first.

Before all decisions had been finalized, Cedric Herpheon had told us five cities believed to be possible locations for the rebel forces' base.

All five cities were places where rebel forces had frequently appeared, and all were close to the capital.

And I was now riding a carriage, skimming through a piece of paper listing the five city names.

—Hmm, child. Is there one you have a feeling about?

As I did so, Kyros appeared and asked me. I answered him immediately.

'Yes, I have a rough idea... of one.'

—Oh ho, I'm curious which it is.

'Perhaps here.'

I answered Kyros while pointing to one of the cities on the paper. The place I was pointing to was a city called "Odret."

And this was precisely where the rebel forces' base was located. Because it had been so in the original story as well.

'On top of that, while it's near the capital...'

It was close to the northern end. And so the conditions weren't good. It was cold, and with an unpredictable climate and poor soil quality, crops didn't grow well.

So while Odret was large in land area, the standard of living was not good. And most of the rebel force's leadership were people who hailed from Odret.

'Odret had a shortage of food and water due to the harsh environment.'

For that reason, Odret had long been requesting support from the Imperial court. Until just a few years ago the Imperial court had steadily supplied them with food and water, but in the past few years the amount supplied to them was absurdly small compared to before.

And that was why rebel forces had arisen in Odret. Believing that the Imperial court, now being pushed around by "Diego Church," had abandoned them.

'With even the most basic living conditions unmet, a rebellion was inevitable.'

And so the "Odret Rebel Forces" wanted to oust an Emperor being manipulated by Diego Church. Even though that was all a misunderstanding.

'The Emperor, rather, wants to protect them.'

And the misunderstanding arose because one of Diego Church's lower-ranking officials had embezzled a portion of the food and water that should have gone to Odret.

That fact was not widely known even within Diego Church. Because in the original story it was depicted as something one lower-ranking official had done with a handful of subordinates.

'Anyway, this incident stemmed from a misunderstanding.'

Thinking that, I boarded the carriage. Finding a carriage heading to Odret within the village wasn't particularly difficult.

The quality was a little inferior, but I could reach Odret in a few hours. I leaned back against the seat and looked out the window.

'And... Cedric Herpheon.'

A piece of the original story came to mind. The reason the Emperor kept Cedric Herpheon particularly close to her.

It was both because she cherished Cedric, the bloodline of the man she had truly loved, and because that lover had been murdered.

'And moreover, the culprit was the Third Prince's father.'

That man had poisoned Cedric's father. At a party with many people, of all things. Naturally, with insufficient evidence, he couldn't be directly punished.

It ended with only the servant who had brought Cedric's father the champagne and a few kitchen staff being put to death.

'Of course, the Emperor suspects the culprit...'

But without grounds to have him imprisoned, she simply did nothing. And so she deeply despised the Third Prince and his father.

'At least if evidence were found later it might be useful, but unfortunately all evidence had disappeared.'

With so much time having passed, it was unavoidable.

—Child.

I was lost in thought when Kyros called me. I was still staring blankly out the window when I answered.

'Yes, Lord Kyros.'

—When you encounter the rebel forces, what will you do?

'Well. As the Second Prince and the Emperor said... I'll protect them and persuade them. That would help us as well.'

—Hmm. I see.

'Yes. It's the request of the Emperor and the one she cherishes most, after all. I don't know the future... but I think the Second Prince stands the highest chance of becoming the next emperor.'

If we completely expelled Diego Church from this continent and erased it from the world — the Imperial court would be left pristine.

And the Emperor would punish those who had played into Diego Church's hands. Then the one remaining would be the Second Prince alone.

The Emperor cherished him most, and with no blemish on him, placing him on the throne would be only natural.

'Not that I intend to lean on power for its own sake. Still, it's better to be close to the highest authorities of the country where our temple stands.'

—Mm. That makes sense.

'Right? Who knows. Maybe someday they'll declare Kyros Church the state religion, like Bahano did.'

—Ha ha. Yes, that could happen.

Listening to Kyros's pleased laughter, I opened my inventory. And I rummaged through to take out my knitting supplies.

'I've still got a while before I arrive.'

I'd thought about taking a nap, but I decided to pass the time with knitting instead. Hoping that my skills might someday rank among the best of those around me.

At the same time, another carriage was leaving Flora.

Since the Church Leader had said she was heading to Odret, the remaining two had decided to head to "Setle" — the closest city to Flora and one of the rebel forces' suspected locations.

And the carriage carrying the two — Terdius and Cedric Herpheon — was beyond quiet; it was utterly silent.

"......"

"......"

Meanwhile, Cedric Herpheon was carefully watching for any opening.

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