Erecia didn't expect that she would one day be part of the Emissary Corps.

After all, when the church sent out the envoys, the members of the team had always been elite samurai, not only civil and military, but also physically representative of the church. She is very confident in her fighting skills and papal etiquette, but when it comes to appearance...... How can a woman who has been running around the defense line all the year round, holding a big sword and waving it all day long, see where she can go? Thinking of this, she felt a little uncomfortable.

According to the priest Mira, they are going to the western town of the Grey Keep Kingdom to negotiate a blasphemous incident in which the royal power shields a witch. In addition to the priests who led the team, the legation consisted of ten Inquisitors, one of whom was also the captain of the Cold Face Captain who had a relationship with the Hermes Line.

But now it seems that even if he is not in the battle, he still has a cold face, and just standing by his side, Eretia will feel that the temperature has dropped a lot.

The priest Mira was the complete opposite, she was over forty years old and had a pair of wise eyes. Always smiling and talking about the anecdotes of the church, she is well-informed, warm and personable, even in the presence of the archbishop, her demeanor is still undiminished. On more than one occasion, Eretia had heard that she had a good chance of becoming a candidate for the next bishop.

And to the samurai's surprise, as a civil official, Mira was no less skilled in riding than the other Inquisitors, and for the past two days she had been leading the team at the forefront, from the woods and mountains to the town trails, she was able to keep the horses moving and reduce physical exertion. This technique can only be mastered by the Inquisitors, who have been trained in riding for a long time.

"Aren't we heading south?" someone in the team asked after leaving the Hermes realm and entering the Grey Keep Kingdom.

"No, the border town is too far away from us, and I don't want my ass to be worn out by land. Mira waved her hand, "Let's go east to Glove Town, where there is a river that leads to Chishui City. Chishui City and then Changge Fortress will be very fast. ”

"When did you join the Church?" asked Eretia curiously, "not only about the Holy City, but also about the secular world. ”

"Twelve years ago, I was exactly thirty years old. Mira replied.

"So late," she said in surprise, "as far as I know, the older you get, the harder it is to comprehend the teachings of the gods, and it's incredible that it took you only ten years to be promoted from a cultist to a priest." ”

"Yes," Mira smiled, "that's the beauty of the church." I, who was originally the daughter of a merchant, followed my father in the Four Kingdoms, and brought ordinary goods from some places to another, and the price would be several times worse. For example, the emerald corals of Haifeng County were purchased from local fishermen, and there were only twenty or thirty silver wolves per plant. Put it in the water tank and bring it to the palace of the Eternal Winter Kingdom to exchange it for a golden dragon. The color is good, the shape of the branches is uniform, and it can even be sold for more than five pieces. I often wonder why there are two different values when they are the same item?"

"Because...... Rare is precious?" said Eretia.

"That's what I thought at first. The priest nodded, "But then something happened that changed my opinion. A nobleman in the royal capital secretly harbors a witch who can change the temperature, and he comes up with various ways to finally raise corals from Seabreeze County in the cold royal capital of Eternal Winter. He transformed the basement of the yard into a huge pool with a skylight at the top, which could be harvested about once a year, and each time he produced more than we could make ten round trips. My father would only run this long trade route once a year. So there was more emerald coral in the market, and he sold it not only to the palace, but also to the big nobles. If it is scarce and expensive, the price of emerald green coral should continue to fall. ”

But after only two years, the palace refused to accept the low-priced emerald corals, believing them to be counterfeits. Instead of dropping the price of corals, my father's sales have doubled. As for the nobles who stole witches, they were found out by the church and burned at the stake with witches for harboring them. But I know that the corals he keeps are not counterfeits, just like the emerald corals my father transported. ”

"It is not a mistake to think that scarcity is expensive, but there are many other reasons why the price of a commodity can be determined, and this is just the simplest example - because the palace of eternal winter has artificially defined its value as a symbol of luxury. When more verdant corals appeared, it took a toll on the royal family's rules, so on the day of the execution, the queen celebrated with a bang. Do you think these goods don't look like the worldly us?"

"Like ...... What?" said Eretia, who did not come back to her senses.

"Like the people under the kingship, child. "We are born with a price, and that price is not a reflection of our true value. We are like this emerald coral, obviously the same, some are cheap, while others are unattainable. ”

"Unattainable...... You mean the aristocracy. ”

"The nobles are the corals of the Palace of Eternal Winter," the priest laughed, "and they were born no different from us, with a pair of hands, a pair of feet, a pair of eyes, and a mouth. However, they were artificially placed at the highest value, and this inequality was not determined by their own ability, but by the dictates of royal power. So I joined the church, at least in the new holy city of Hermes, where birth does not limit your worth. If we can turn the entire continent into the ultimate holy city of the Church, the so-called kingdom of the gods, it will be nothing more than that. ”

"That's a great point!" said Eretia, nodding repeatedly, her heart stirring. It would be as wonderful as it would be to be able to establish an earthly kingdom of God like that described by Mira, where people were born without blood, untouchables, and slaves.

"The Kingdom of God? huh...... How many more people do they want to turn into cold-blooded monsters?" the cold-faced Judge Captain shook the reins and stepped forward, "Lord Priest, how much do you know about the Divine Punishment Army?"

"Hey, you-" Erecia was about to get him to pay attention to politeness, but before she could say anything, she was stopped by Mira.

"The Divine Punishers are the most powerful warriors of the Church, and they are the transformation of the faithful, dedicated, and courageous Inquisition. ”

"The most powerful is good, and it's not bad that they need to be transformed by the Inquisitor, but they don't transform into warriors, but a group of emotionless monsters!" he coldly dropped the sentence and rode to the front of the group.

"It's rude!" said Eretia hatefully, and when Hermes saw him, he thought he was calm in danger, with the composure of a general and the bravery of a warrior, how could he become such a person now?

"It's okay, he's just upset. Mira shook her head and said, "In order to build the kingdom of God on earth, there will inevitably be setbacks and sacrifices...... At least we did it voluntarily, though. ”

When the group arrived in the next town, it was getting late, and the priest led the messengers to the church to rest. After eating, everyone went back to their rooms to sleep, but Eretia followed the inquisitor and stopped him in the hallway.

"Mira-sama is our leader, what do you mean by that, have you forgotten all the rules and regulations of the church?"

"Your name is Eretia, isn't it?" he said after a moment of silence.

"That's right, I'm now a Judge Captain, just like you. I asked for your name back in Demon Moon, but you didn't say anything, can you tell me your name now?"

"Abrams," he said with a blank face, "as for why I did that...... Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

"Nope. Eretia suddenly remembered that he had said that his brother was a punisher.

"I have. He and I grew up in the church together, and we knew each other as if we were one person. Later, he accepted the conversion of the Divine Punishment Army, and I never saw him again - the presiding judge told me that his conversion was very successful, and that he was now out on a special mission of the church, and I was sincerely happy for him. He paused, "Until one day, I saw him again in the cathedral, and I called his name and went up to him to hug him, and guess what I saw?" Abrams' face showed a hint of pain, "A stranger." He walked past me as if he didn't see me at all, his eyes glazed blank, staring straight ahead, and his actions not at all human. ”

"......" A chill rose behind Elethea's back, and she wanted to shout that the other party was lying, but she couldn't say a word when she opened her mouth.

"The Divine Punishment Army has been stripped of human affection, and is nothing more than a moving mass of dead things. He pushed Eretia away from the stunned and walked towards his room without looking back. (To be continued.) )