Before launching into a full-scale operation, it was necessary to persuade the missing individuals.
Waking up those who had given up hope was no easy task. Fortunately, it wasn’t impossible.
On the contrary, it was surprisingly, remarkably easy.
“L-Lady Saint…?”
“A First-Class Knight…! The Church’s ultimate weapon…!”
Words often derive their credibility from the speaker.
Wouldn’t a rescue plan presented by an ordinary search team feel vastly different in its likelihood of success compared to one delivered by a knight renowned for their unmatched strength?
The only person who enjoyed relying on status and titles was Rubena.
Still, when it came to calming the missing people for the greater good, everyone worked together.
Hope began to gleam in the eyes of the missing individuals.
Some shed transparent tears and sobbed uncontrollably.
Watching them cry—not because they could survive, but at the thought of reuniting with their family, friends, or lovers—Usher smiled warmly.
It was the very image of a benevolent saint.
After consoling the missing individuals, he approached Bersia and suddenly said something.
“Thank you.”
“What? Out of nowhere?”
“You humored my insistence.”
In a secluded spot, their murmurs were muffled by the general noise in the area, preventing them from leaking outside.
Even the dim lighting made it difficult to discern facial expressions from just a short distance away.
In such a place, Bersia tilted her head slightly, adopting a more relaxed demeanor.
“That’s pretty random.”
“Ha, it seemed like you weren’t very fond of it.”
He hit the mark.
Bersia felt a momentary jolt in her chest.
Indeed, she truly disliked this operation.
It was a matter of pure arithmetic.
The rescue of about sixty missing individuals versus the annihilation of heretics gathered in the hundreds.
Which of the two would benefit the world more in the long term? She would undoubtedly choose the latter.
From the start, the rescue itself was a risky gamble.
To lead a group of debilitated, clumsy people through such chaos was already questionable.
And to undertake such a perilous task while inhabiting a body not in its normal condition—didn’t this make the mission excessively difficult?
It required her to consider the possibility of failure and even death.
Then why hadn’t she voiced any objections?
For someone like her, who lacked reverence for or faith in the divine, why had she gone along with the cause?
After contemplating the question herself, she concluded, ironically, that it was because of Usher.
Not because she was inspired by him.
It was distinctly different from that.
It was an entirely selfish sentiment—something she couldn’t admit aloud. Yet, recognizing it herself, she silently acknowledged it.
She hoped Usher would remain oblivious to this calculative side of her.
She wanted Usher, who mistakenly believed she was a rough-talking but fundamentally kind person, to continue seeing her that way.
That way, she felt he would stay by her side.
For some reason, the mere thought of him becoming disappointed in her and distancing himself felt utterly unbearable.
Why had she come to feel this way about just this one person?
‘This one thing’ needed to stay by her side. She thought that only then would she be able to breathe.
She didn’t know when this emotion had begun or why.
For now, Bersia could only focus on the current moment.
Usher had seen through her.
Bersia realized she was dreading the next words to come.
Perhaps that’s why.
“Are you disappointed in me?”
It was an undeniable defense mechanism.
At that moment, Bersia realized how often she had asked him this question before.
Her heart raced.
Feigning a neutral expression, she braced herself for the judgment to follow.
But, as always, Usher’s answer defied her expectations.
“Huh? Why would I be disappointed?”
“…Because I’m thinking unrighteous thoughts for someone who’s supposed to be a saint.”
“Thoughts are free.”
Usher laughed lightly.
His next words were just like him—idealistic and filled with excessive generosity.
“Goodness doesn’t stem from intention; it comes from action. No matter how noble one’s thoughts are, without action, they can’t be considered good intentions. But the opposite is different. Imagine, for example, an evil person feigning virtue and saving someone.”
“…Are you saying they’re good because their actions were good?”
“Of course, there’s a complex interplay of cause and effect. Concepts like goodwill or righteousness can vary depending on one’s perspective. But even so, there’s one thing I can say with certainty.”
His eyes, even in this darkness, shone brightly.
That clarity seemed to sweep away the dark something lurking inside Bersia.
“You are not an evil person, Lady Saint. You sacrificed for goodwill, even in the face of personal gain. Your thoughts may have been calculative, but your actions were not.”
Usher placed his hand over Bersia’s back.
His expression held a certain warmth, as if he were proud of her.
“Abandoning personal gain for the sake of goodwill—we call that courage. You, Lady Saint, are a courageous person.”
Usher’s eyes curved softly, forming a gentle arc.
That gaze once again soaked into Bersia’s heart, like rainwater that drenched and washed away everything it touched.
How could someone speak in such a way?
Surely, she had shown him time and again that she was not the saintess he envisioned.
What kept him from giving up on her?
Would he have done the same even if this body wasn’t bound by its limitations?
Various thoughts crossed her mind.
Amid them, she realized something: Usher would likely speak this way no matter who stood before him.
That realization displeased her.
The heart that had been softening began to dry up once again.
The confusion made it difficult for her to choose her words.
Whether aware of her turmoil or not, Usher gave her a shy, bashful smile and spoke.
“Anyway, that’s why I’m grateful. I was being unreasonable… and, um…”
He sneaked glances at her reaction.
Then, leaning in closer, he whispered.
“I-I’ll reward you when we return…! But don’t get any strange ideas! It’s not that kind of reward…!”
In the dim light, his flushed cheeks were vividly apparent.
At that moment, Bersia instinctively knew.
Perhaps her possessiveness toward Usher would not end here.
After all her confusion, what remained were faint unease and an undeniable greed.
She pressed her lips together to swallow down the words that threatened to escape.
Then, she smiled.
“A reward, huh…”
Such things shouldn’t be spoken of carelessly.
She thought this only to herself, feeling as if her hidden desires were too unclean.
Time passed.
The moment for the operation had arrived.
At a point where they didn’t even know what lay beyond the iron bars, there was only one way to uncover the enemy’s forces, the structure of the area, and an escape route.
“They said some of them come to distribute rations, right? We’ll interrogate them.”
The plan was to capture and interrogate a heretic.
Conveniently, the ones in charge of ration distribution and counting numbers would reportedly enter alone, as they didn’t even consider the missing people might resist.
Based on this, the idea was formed:
First, as soon as the door was opened, Saturn would crush a section of the iron bars in a hidden corner to create an escape route.
Then, they would hide by the door and ambush the heretic as they entered, subduing and restraining them.
Afterward, they would close the door again and conduct the interrogation.
The soundproofing could easily be handled with a basic prayer to prevent noise from escaping.
To summarize: the plan succeeded.
And the interrogation began.
It was Bersia who took charge of it.
“Hiccup…!”
Usher let out a small hiccup.
Crunch!
“Ugh…!”
The space was sealed with divine power, ensuring no sound could escape.
The heretic, dressed in black priestly robes, was bound to the wall and being stepped on.
Specifically, the two treasures attached to his lower body were being crushed.
“J-Jade, ooooh Jade…!”
“You like this? Grunting like a pig—how filthy.”
Bersia smiled brightly, looking almost as if she was genuinely enjoying herself.
The male side of Usher’s consciousness voiced that this was going too far, but the thought was quickly dismissed.
After all, wasn’t this a heretic?
An evil deserving of being ripped apart and killed without remorse.
The others felt the same way.
No one intervened.
However, some of the male survivors, harboring deep hatred for the heretics, couldn’t bear to watch.
One even covered his ears, trembling.
Even Sir Saturn averted his gaze, making further explanation unnecessary.
In any case, the interrogation was effective.
Crunch!
“Aaaaargh!!!”
“Oh, it’s broken. Don’t worry—I’ll fix it for you.”
Bersia didn’t bother asking any questions.
She simply stomped on the “jewel,” shattering it, then smiled cheerfully and healed it with divine power.
For any holy knight, it was common knowledge that the pain of restoring something broken was far greater than the pain of it breaking in the first place.
This repetitive act was nothing short of brutal torture and an utter denial of dignity.
Still, Bersia didn’t ask a single question first.
She seemed to be waiting for something, and eventually, she got what she wanted.
“P-Please stop…! I’ll talk! I’ll tell you everything!”
Crunch!
“AAAAARGH!!!”
“Oh, it broke again. My bad—I guess I’m a little slow at understanding.”
“J-Jade! Jade! P-Please!!!”
“I’ll fix it again. Let’s talk after that.”
The heretic shook his head violently in despair.
But Bersia didn’t stop.
Her divine power shone once more.
At that horrifying and grotesque sight, Rubena approached Usher and whispered a question.
“…Are you okay?”
“Pardon?”
“I mean, I didn’t know he was like that. His personality…”
Rubena stared at Bersia as if looking at a monster.
Indeed, Bersia’s smile did look cruel.
‘…Wait.’
Usher felt a sense of crisis.
No matter that his body was currently borrowed—this was still the body he’d eventually have to reclaim.
If Bersia’s reputation became too tarnished, he’d face serious trouble when he returned to it.
Cold sweat ran down his back.
In a fluster, Usher hurriedly tried to make an excuse, his words brimming with sincerity and desperation.
“H-He’s not usually like this! He’s a good person at heart…!”
Rubena looked at Usher with pity in her eyes.
Her response was lukewarm.
“Uh… sure.”
Usher didn’t realize it.
To an outsider, his desperation seemed like blind faith, ignoring reality.
In his attempt to protect his own honor, he outright denied Bersia’s actions, only amplifying the sense of disparity.
And honestly, from Rubena’s perspective, hadn’t Bersia changed drastically after meeting that escort knight?
The once cold and dignified Bersia had started behaving like a girl.
If she had been so entranced by someone so cruel that she lost herself and became submissive, it all made sense.
The phrase “battered wife” came to Rubena’s mind.
Of course, she didn’t dare say it aloud.
“He’s… he’s really kind to me!”
For Usher, it was an unfortunate development.