Chapter 58 : A New Connection (4)

“My mentor was an inquisitor. Do you happen to know Bishop Saul?”

As expected, when things are awkward, it’s all about connections—academic, geographical, and familial.

The only person I could lean on was my mentor.

“Is Bishop Saul really your mentor?”

Just as I thought!

It definitely works.

The inquisitor, who had been giving short responses the whole time, finally started talking more at length and showed some interest.

“You seem to know my mentor.”

“I couldn’t possibly not know him. I wanted to learn from him, but by the time I was ready to receive education, he had already retired, so I couldn’t.”

I remembered how he used to boast about how great he was back in the day.

At first, I thought it was just another typical old man’s “back in my day” story. But hearing it from someone who had just become an inquisitor, I couldn’t deny that what my mentor said wasn’t a lie.

“I didn’t know he was teaching disciples after his retirement.”

His eyes, which had almost lost their light and seemed lifeless, began to show a spark of energy.

When someone who had been nearly unresponsive suddenly shows some life, I realized I had chosen the right topic.

“Actually, I’m calling him my mentor because he asked me to, but our relationship is a bit unusual for a typical teacher-student dynamic.”

From what I’ve heard, the relationship between a mentor and a disciple is supposed to be like that of parents and children.

Of course, if someone has many disciples, the relationship might feel more like that of a university professor and graduate student. But as for my relationship with my mentor…

“It’s more like a local uncle who, out of boredom, pokes and teases a neighborhood kid, makes him cry, and then gives him some candy to make up for it. That’s about the extent of my relationship with my mentor.”

That was the kind of relationship I had with my mentor.

Even though he told me to call him my mentor, he would often tease me, and then, as if doing me a favor, throw a book at me.

He would harass me and then, like some kind of act of kindness, give me a book to read, but he didn’t really care about sharing the knowledge from those books with others.

So, I ended up sharing the knowledge from his books with a little healer.

“That’s definitely strange. For someone to be a disciple of that person and not be an inquisitor.”

“He was so versatile that he even taught a lot in the healing field.”

He told me that if I wanted to learn about being an inquisitor, I should find another teacher, but since I wasn’t interested in that, I asked him to teach me healing techniques.

“Thanks to my mentor, I can’t deny that I became the youngest head healer.”

Of course, it’s true that I became the head healer because I was smart and capable.

But just because someone teaches well doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily learn well, does it?

“I see.”

It seemed like his curiosity about my mentor was still there, but his curiosity about me had mostly disappeared.

Even though my mentor didn’t do anything, I somehow felt like I had lost in this conversation.

Still, at least I realized that the inquisitor wasn’t completely indifferent to the world, so it wasn’t a total loss.

I took the inquisitor, who had neatly finished a large bowl of noodles, to a modest lodging.

“If you stay here just for tonight, I’ll guide you to a proper place tomorrow.”

“I’m fine staying here.”

“Oh, that’s impossible. I can’t accommodate you here.”

This place was more of a small break room with only a bed and a table. It was extremely cramped, and the bathroom was awful.

I felt guilty just making her sleep here for a night.

“To be honest, I would have liked to offer you a room at my place, but…”

Since the inquisitor was a woman, I couldn’t do that.

There was a clear distinction between men and women, and inviting a woman to a man’s place, especially when meeting for the first time, would be considered rude.

“It’s fine. If you’re not uncomfortable with it, I don’t need you to arrange a separate place for me. I just need a place to sleep and eat, like here.”

Her blunt response was like a bombshell.

“What?”

“I said, if it’s not uncomfortable for you, there’s no need for a separate place. A place to sleep and eat is enough, like here.”

“…Still, I can’t let you stay here. I’ll make arrangements for a proper place by morning.”

Her straightforwardness was quite surprising.

“When are we entering the labyrinth?”

“It will take some time to enter the labyrinth. There’s been some delay on that side.”

“I understand. Let me know when the schedule is ready. I will wait until then.”

“Uh… okay.”

It seemed like becoming friends with the inquisitor, or Sister Melody, would be quite difficult.

She didn’t seem like the type of person who would warm up to others quickly after spending just a day or two together.

Then…

‘I’ll have to meet her more often to get closer.’

“I’m not trying to ignore the differences in personality, but at least if we have to face life and death together, we shouldn’t remain in an uncomfortable relationship.”

“Actually, it’s more important for my team members to get closer to each other than for me to bond with Sister Melody.”

I suddenly became curious about how Princess Lasiell would view this situation.

Perhaps, because she is one of the privileged, she might think there’s no problem with it? After all, she wasn’t one to frequently converse with the team members.

In that regard…

“I didn’t expect her to be a mood-maker, but it would have been nice if someone cheerful had joined us.”

But instead, this time the inquisitor seemed more likely to make the situation worse rather than help.

“Exactly what do inquisitors do?”

“They judge heretics.”

“Heretics aren’t common, are they?”

“They go looking for heretics. And sometimes, I’ve heard, they carry out judgments.”

The appearance of the inquisitors had become a major topic of conversation among the priests.

Since there weren’t many inquisitors, this was the first time many of the priests had seen one.

Even though everyone knew they were important people, there was a lot of curiosity because no one really knew what made them so special.

“Is that all?”

“They’re doing the hardest job!”

“If it’s such a hard job, shouldn’t they be getting widespread recognition and building a reputation? But there’s not much known about them.”

“Normally, matters related to heretics and demons aren’t something you talk about openly. There’s no benefit to making it public.”

That’s why inquisitors are respected, honored, and treated well. Even though the difficult tasks they perform aren’t known to the public, they dedicate their lives to it without complaint.

“Don’t stare too much, just be kind and you’ll get a sense of what they’re like.”

Priest Chilan advised the young healers.

“I want to get closer, but would it be rude to start a conversation?”

Everyone’s eyes were on me, the only one who had talked with the inquisitor.

“They’re probably very curious, but I’d like it if you could refrain from asking questions. They seem to be someone who keeps their lips sealed about matters related to their work. If you ask too many questions, it might make them uncomfortable.”

“No questions allowed!!”

Priest Ando shouted loudly so that everyone could hear when he heard my words.

The priests seemed to reluctantly accept my suggestion.

“We’ve only met for a few hours, so it would be a stretch to say I know everything, but they seem like a quiet person, so it’s probably not good to pay too much attention to them. Approach with caution.”

“Yes!”

“Yes~”

“Has the accommodation been arranged?”

“Yes!! I’ve found a place that’s as spacious, clean, and sunny as possible! The cleaning is done, and right now, I’m placing the bedding and other living supplies.”

It seemed that the inquisitor had not yet appeared, possibly due to exhaustion from the long journey.

The priest, who had heard about what happened last night, was busy arranging a place for her to stay.

Despite the sudden arrival, Priest Chilan was flustered, saying how could they possibly let such an important guest sleep in such a poor place, which made everything a bit chaotic.

It seemed that Priest Chilan and Priest Ando were also quite intrigued by the inquisitor, finding her a mysterious and unfamiliar figure.

“Inquisitors are hard to find even in the central church,” Priest Chilan remarked.

Although they exist everywhere, inquisitors are rarely seen. The main reason priests are so afraid of their appearance is because of their powers.

“Could it be that they’re here to investigate our temple?”

It’s because of the power of inspection and judgment they wield.

“To the heretics, they are like reapers, and to us, they’re like secret inspectors.”

So even though the inquisitor had been dispatched to protect me, it wasn’t surprising that Priest Chilan and Priest Ando were flustered and worried.

“Even if they do inspect, nothing major should happen, right? Why are you so scared?”

“I envy the natural spirit of Priest Arthur,” Priest Ando said.

“Living without any shame under the sky is not an easy thing,” Priest Chilan added.

Their comments were bewildering to me.

‘Did they commit some corruption I don’t know about?’

Or is it just that, like someone who has no wrongdoing but feels nervous when a police car follows them, they’re simply uneasy?

“Looks like she’s coming.”

At that moment, the inquisitor, whom the priests had been eagerly waiting for, appeared.

“Sister, did you sleep well last night?”

I approached her first to ask how she had rested.

“Yes. Thanks to you, I was able to rest comfortably. The bed was so comfortable that I ended up sleeping in.”

The surprising thing was that she answered much more extensively than she did last night.

Though her expression was still somewhat stiff.

“Our temple’s priests wanted to greet you, so they’ve gathered here. Would that be uncomfortable for you?”

“No, not at all. They’ll be people I’ll owe a lot to in the future.”

“Cough! Greetings, Sister. I am Priest Chilan, Head Priest.”

“I am Priest Ando, Head Priest.”

“Yes, I am Clergy Melody.”

Although everyone knew she was an inquisitor, she introduced herself as clergy.

‘It seems real inquisitors hide their true identity when they’re around.’

How fascinating.

It seemed that I wasn’t the only one who was fascinated, as the young healers’ eyes were shining brightly.

If I hadn’t asked them to refrain from asking questions earlier, I’m sure they would have been buried under a barrage of questions from the priests by now.