How a Reincarnated Warlock Lives – Chapter 29

Chapter 29: Witch Hunt (3)

In principle, to judge whether someone is a heretic or not, a proper trial must be conducted in an open space where many people can attend, with advocates to defend both sides, and only then should a verdict be reached.

“……”

However, this was an era where such common sense was easily disregarded. Perhaps only influential nobles of the kingdom could expect a trial of that standard.

Leaving aside fairness, the reason this woman even had a chance at a trial was because she was from the Red Magic Tower.

When I asked if she had indeed learned magic from the Red Magic Tower, the mage Romain handed me a piece of paper from his pocket and said politely,

“Yes. We sent someone to the Red Magic Tower and confirmed that her claim was true. Although it was a short period of less than a year, they said she definitely learned magic there.”

The blazing mana remained, undoubtedly the seal of the Red Magic Tower Master. This document, bearing a mark akin to a mage’s fingerprint, was undoubtedly genuine.

However, judging from the dry and short reply, it seemed the Red Magic Tower didn’t care much about this matter.

Perhaps it was natural.

She wasn’t a formal disciple of the Tower Master, and she was only a temporary apprentice who stayed for less than a year.

Dozens of temporary apprentices pass through the tower every year. Even if she was proven to be a heretic, it wouldn’t significantly affect the tower’s reputation. If the Red Magic Tower Master had wanted to prove her innocence, he would have sent someone separately.

And in the first place, the fact that this woman briefly studied at the tower didn’t prove that she wasn’t a heretic.

Although rare, there were cases where those from the Church were corrupted and turned to darkness.

“Rather, because she used the skills she learned to harm people, a more definite punishment is necessary.”

The reason this woman named Laila was accused of being a witch was simple.

Laila made and sold potions, and her products had quite decent effects. Whether she utilized what she learned at the tower or used separate knowledge was unknown.

Although not as immediate and certain as the Church’s genuine healing potions, it was said that they were quite effective in healing wounds. Moreover, they also had good effects on women’s skin beauty.

The high-quality healing potions made using the holy water cultivated in the Grand Temple of Mount Calimphus were too expensive for the salaries of ordinary mercenaries or soldiers, so Laila’s handmade potions were quite popular within the city.

The problem began when rumors spread that a baby’s cry was heard from Laila’s private workshop.

‘Have you heard the rumor? A baby’s cry was heard from Laila’s workshop! And it sounded like multiple babies.’

‘What the…… Doesn’t she live alone?’

As with most sinister rumors, the people’s whispers gradually spread.

From stories that Laila’s potions contained baby blood, to claims that she was actually a witch.

To make matters worse, some of those who had taken her potions long-term complained of severe abdominal pain, and the problem grew out of control.

A beautiful young woman living alone, making suspicious medicine.

There was no way this rumor wouldn’t reach the ears of the priests who were eagerly searching for traces of heresy.

“There were actual cases of babies disappearing in the city. Although it hasn’t been clearly identified who did it yet.”

“Ha! It goes without saying that it must be the work of this witch!”

At the elf Elinas’ calm words, Dayer scoffed. Jerit, who was alternately looking at the woman seemingly regaining her senses and me, cautiously asked the priest who mocked the elf’s words,

“But, wouldn’t it be better to be certain? Just in case she’s innocent. How unfortunate it would be if we were to kill an innocent person.”

“The Church’s judgment is God’s judgment. Such a thing will not happen.”

Dayer calmly continued, looking at Jerit.

“And even if such a thing were to happen, if they were truly innocent, the soul of the one burned by the sacred flame will ascend to paradise. It’s a good thing.”

“……!”

At his words, Jerit made a slightly angry expression. But before he could retort, the mage Romain shouted in an enraged voice,

“Damn it. Are you deliberately driving her out because people aren’t seeking your expensive potions?”

At the mage’s words, Dayer’s expression hardened. He turned towards Romain with a slightly flushed face and said warningly,

“Watch your tongue, Romain! How dare you utter such blasphemous words before me!”

Romain’s gaze, which was about to retort the priest’s words, landed on me, the Inquisitor. He briefly bit his lip and then bowed his head slightly to me.

“……I apologize if my words sounded offensive. I never meant to speak about the entire Church.”

I said to him nonchalantly,

“I know, so don’t worry about it.”

At my words, Romain and Elinas wore relieved expressions, and Priest Dayer seemed somewhat indignant. But he only wore a displeased expression and didn’t object to my words any further.

“……”

A brief silence followed in the hallway. I took one last look at the woman named Laila.

Her appearance was plain. If it weren’t for the burst blood and blue bruises, she would have looked even more so.

As with most of those caught in witch hunts, she likely suffered more injuries from the surrounding villagers than from the soldiers.

Compared to the others imprisoned, her injuries were relatively less severe.

Sweep.

She slowly raised her head and looked at me. Clear hostility in her red eyes.

Witch hunts sometimes begin with false accusations stemming from someone’s envy or jealousy.

I didn’t avoid her gaze and met her eyes.

“……Inquisitor.”

A cracked voice leaked from her swollen lips.

It seemed she recognized the black cloak of the Inquisitor, which at first glance was indistinguishable from a traveler’s. Quite sharp-witted despite her abnormal physical condition.

“I, I’m innocent. I haven’t done anything wrong─”

Rambling words followed. All of them pleading her innocence.

“……”

I looked at her with an indifferent gaze.

When I didn’t show any particular reaction to her continued pleas, she finally slammed the bars, perhaps thinking her words were useless.

It was a gesture filled with resentment, anger, and something else.

“……Damn fanatics!”

An angry shout. Her hand, which had struck the bars with her slender arm, trembled.

“Such blasphemy……!”

I lightly raised my hand and stopped Dayer, who was approaching in a huff.

It was an era where it was difficult to distinguish the guilty. Perhaps even more so than in the past.

“……”

I had no intention of pursuing impartiality with a righteous sense of justice and a sense of mission. If that were my value, I wouldn’t have returned in the first place.

I simply contemplated which judgment would be more rational in achieving my desired goal.

The surroundings became quiet once again.

Elinas, Romain, Dayer, and even Jerit were all watching me with their mouths shut.

“……”

Everyone held their breath, waiting for my words that would decide her fate.

Waiting for the verdict of the Inquisitor, who held the authority to decide guilt or innocence with a single word.

Looking at the woman with red eyes, I slowly opened my mouth.

“Burn her.”

🔹🔹🔹

Jerit looked ahead with a complicated gaze.

At the very top of the massive, stair-like building.

The central part of the summit was in a recessed shape, invisible from below.

And deep within that depression, a giant pyre was situated.

Not ordinary wooden stakes like a makeshift pyre, but massive pillars made of smooth and solid white stone.

“Let us begin.”

As Priest Dayer finished speaking, a low humming sound began to resonate.

Kugugugu.

With a heavy sound, each of the massive pillars began to slowly rise upwards.

Those tied to them also began to ascend naturally as the pillars rose.

The sinners, who had been tied at the bottom of the recessed area and had to look down, were now at a similar eye level to Jerit.

Among the priests and brothers standing on the stepped platform surrounding the pyre, and the people who had paid an entrance fee to witness the burning of the heretics, those tied to the pillars screamed in various ways.

“No! S, Save me! Please!”

“I, I’m innocent!”

Those who pleaded their innocence until the very end.

“Damn servants of God. I’ll be waiting for you in hell.”

Those who muttered curses under their breath.

“……”

And those who quietly awaited their demise.

Jerit raised his head and looked at Inquisitor Luciel, who was positioned at the highest point of the platform.

A calm gaze that made it impossible to believe he was of a similar age. Jerit was newly afraid of his indifferent expression.

When Jerit cautiously asked why the woman was certainly a heretic, he simply shook his head without a word.

The days he spent with him traveling here were not very long.

However, it was enough time for Jerit to develop a sense of respect for the Inquisitor, who was knowledgeable in all areas to the point where he doubted they had lived the same number of years.

‘Should I stop it even now?’

Jerit bit his lip and looked at the woman named Laila, tied to the central pillar at the front.

A plain and innocent appearance. She didn’t look like a witch who would use wicked tricks to harm people.

Of course, there was no definite proof that she was innocent. The fact that she had actually learned magic at the Red Magic Tower, even for a short time, wasn’t enough to prove her innocence.

Rather, as Priest Dayer had said, if she had used the skills she learned there to abduct nearby babies and inflict suffering on people, it was only right to punish her as a heretic.

However.

Jerit looked ahead with trembling eyes.

“……”

As soon as Luciel’s words fell, preparations for the burning began, and instead of one of the original prisoners, Laila was tied to the pillar.

Perhaps one unknown heretic had been given another day to live.

This was the weight carried by a single word from the Inquisitor.

Neither the mage Romain of the Blue Magic Tower nor the half-elf Elinas could dare to challenge the Inquisitor’s words.

In principle, an Inquisitor held the authority equivalent to a Bishop.

Unless they were a high-ranking mage of the Magic Tower or a high-ranking noble of a large kingdom, their positions were too low to carelessly object to his words. In the first place, there was no way such a high-ranking authority figure would exist in this free city that wasn’t under separate rule.

“Heresia Cadiere, destruction to the heretics.”

Priest Dayer muttered softly and touched something to the side, and soon the inside of the pyre began to flicker.

Simultaneously, the priests present began to recite prayers in low voices.

Wheeik!

A sound like air escaping. A sound like a light whistle began to emanate from inside the pyre.

And then the bottom of the white pyre gradually turned blue.

The blue flame that burns heretics.

The high-temperature flames originating from the long-ago inscribed holy spell began to heat the pyre.

Wheeing.

The hot air hit his face with the timely wind.

“Ugh……!”

A scorching heat that was a bit surprising even from a considerable distance. Jerit raised his arm to shield his face and took a step back.

The flames were hot enough to make the solid, straight white pillars appear to shimmer, but the flames themselves weren’t burning fiercely. This was to produce smoke for a long time.

The blue light of death flickering and filling the inside of the white pyre.

Those tied to the pillars screamed in pain from the intense heat, but thankfully, it didn’t last long.

Amidst the screams that gradually subsided as they breathed their last, a sudden cry erupted. It was the woman’s sharp scream.

“I curse you, Inquisitor! I will watch your destruction from hell─!”

The resentful woman’s wail. It was the sound that erupted from the mouth of the person named Laila.

It was a shout filled with so much malice that even Jerit, who hadn’t been looking at her, flinched instinctively.

Jerit almost instinctively turned his head to look at the Inquisitor who was the target of that chilling curse.

But Luciel’s reaction was too composed.

Snicker.

He chuckled lightly as if in ridicule and met her red eyes, burning within the blue flames, without avoiding them until the very end.

How much time passed like that?

The flames died down, the sun set, and the smoke rising from the pyre subsided.

Luciel, who had been standing on the platform until then, slowly descended towards the inside of the pyre with slow steps.

“I, Inquisitor-nim!”

The priests, who had been remaining until then while exchanging glances because the highest-ranking person, the Inquisitor, hadn’t left his position, hurriedly followed behind him.

“Ugh……!”

Jerit, who likewise followed behind Luciel towards the inside of the extinguished pyre, hesitated for a moment at the heat of the pyre that hadn’t yet completely dissipated.

The bottom of the pyre, made of stones, was still quite hot.

Unfazed by it, Luciel, who continued walking, shifted his gaze towards the ashes piled where the pillars had descended.

The ashes left after burning a single person weren’t that much. Especially compared to this massive structure.

However, now there was a pile of ashes so large that it was difficult to even discern how many people they belonged to.

As if searching for something, Luciel stared intently at the gray ashes and slowly opened his mouth.

“Do you know where the woman named Laila’s house is?”

“Y, Yes?”

Priest Dayer, who was standing awkwardly at a distance due to the still-lingering heat, asked back in a bewildered tone.

“Her house.”

“Ah, yes! Of course! In a small forest on the outskirts of the city─”

After hearing Dayer’s words, Luciel nodded and turned around. With a resolute attitude as if there was nothing left for him to see at this pyre.

“Let’s go, Jerit.”

“Y, Yes? Ah, yes!”

Jerit stammered in response to the sudden call of his name.

Woooong.

Leaving behind the faint noise of the structure installed on the inner wall of the pyre, inscribed with the tower’s magic, sucking in the smell, Jerit hurriedly followed behind Luciel.

🔹🔹🔹

The house where the woman named Laila lived was located in a small forest on the outskirts of the city.

Since it was a small forest within the city, it was more fitting to describe it as small and charming rather than lush.

“……”

A small cabin located in the center of the forest. It was the place where the woman named Laila lived. The small fence and vegetable garden, already ruined by the soldiers and villagers, caught Jerit’s eye.

“Will you wait outside?”

At Luciel’s words, Jerit responded a little stiffly without realizing it.

“No, I’d like to go inside and check as well.”

“……Hmm.”

Luciel pondered for a moment at his answer and then readily nodded.

Whatever the reason for coming all the way here, refusing the company of Priest Dayer and the soldiers who wanted to follow, Jerit wanted to see the inside for himself.

‘……Perhaps there might be evidence to prove her innocence.’

Even though he couldn’t say a word when she was burned to death, he wanted to do something, even if it was belated.

Creak.

The door of the small cabin opened with Luciel’s touch, and Jerit followed him inside.

“……”

The inside was somewhat messy. It seemed the house had already been turned upside down in search of evidence of heresy.

Sigh.

Jerit, letting out a sigh mixed with regret, took out the Requiem Rod from his pocket. He couldn’t bring himself to do it at the pyre filled with priests, but he wanted to console her soul here.

“……Huh?”

Jerit, who had taken out Rokellan’s Requiem Rod, tilted his head.

Brrr, brrr, brrr.

The small rod, imbued with holy power, was trembling faintly.

“Why is this……”

As Jerit looked down at the ominously trembling rod with a puzzled expression, Luciel’s calm voice reached him.

“Jerit, can you recite what I said when I first talked about witches?”

“Y, Yes?”

An unexpected question.

Jerit stammered in response to the question.

“……W, Witches are adept at deceiving appearances and are quite tricky to deal with─”

Brrr, brrr, brrr, brrr.

Jerit’s eyes caught the tip of the Requiem Rod, which had been trembling increasingly violently, becoming stained black. A clear sign of warning.

Bang!

Simultaneously, the wide-open cabin door slammed shut.

Thud, thud, thud.

The windows began to close at the same time. There was still no one around except the two of them.

Thud, thud, thud.

“……!”

Finally, the inside of the cabin, where all sources of light were blocked, was engulfed in darkness. The bewildered Jerit looked around.

Thick darkness that instantly filled the room.

Jerit, clutching Rokellan’s Requiem Rod, which emitted a faint light in the darkness, stammered with a flustered face.

“W, What is this……”

With only the faint light emanating from the Requiem Rod, it was impossible to even distinguish whether this was the small cabin or the vast outside. That’s how thick the darkness was.

An unimaginable situation. The sudden disappearance of distance was enough to bewilder Jerit.

No, anyone would find it difficult to remain calm in this situation.

“Now.”

At that moment.

Luciel’s low voice reached Jerit’s ears as he fumbled, losing his composure in the sudden situation.

“Let the witch hunt begin.”

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