The Villain Carries the Holy Sword – Chapter 79.1

Chapter 79.1: Proof of Spring (1)

「”Oh Light, do witches truly deserve to die?

Yesterday, I hammered a stake into the heart of a witch.

I twisted the necks of the two sons she bore, and ripped the arms and legs off the man she married.

And that’s not all.

I killed the fathers and mothers of some, and even the grandparents. I killed the children that even I could not bear to kill.

I killed everyone in the village that hid the witch.

Oh Light.

Your words, which I believe in and follow, are that everyone in the world is equal under the Light, and that even if they have sinned, they can be given a chance if they sincerely repent.

But what sin did they commit?

And what sin have we committed that we must eliminate those who beg for the lives of their children?

I don’t expect to hear the answer to this small prayer. Because I know that your words and will bloom in ‘Summer’ and ripen in ‘Autumn’.

But I think that I have already received the answer.

I think that the answer is that you have not taken your light away from me because I harbor this humble doubt.

But I’m also scared.

I am afraid that if I do not kill the witches, you will turn away from me.

What is your will?

Is it the will of the Saintess who holds ‘Autumn,’ or is it the words written in the scriptures?

Or is it your will to send this foolish one to the Airian Islands, where the elven witch lives and breathe?

━The Diary of a Certain Priest.」

🔹🔹🔹

“Faster! Faster!”

Neighhh━!

At Lord Baron Lubrick’s shout, the horses pulling the carriage bolted forward with all their might.

Mainus, the land port, was a city built with meticulous planning from the start. It had dedicated roads for carriages, making such a chase possible.

“Damn it! Damn it!”

Inside the carriage, middle-aged Lubrick, his hair a mess, grabbed his head and began to curse.

“I must have been out of my mind. Even if she is Sigma, a knight commander, how could I let her board without even registering her on the passenger list?”

He was the Director-General of Railways, overseeing the entire Airian railway network, and was currently working at the Mainus Railway Authority.

But just a moment ago…

━Sir! There’s been a terrorist attack on Princess Oleciren’s carriage!

The carriage carrying the princess, of all people, had been attacked.

There were no identifying marks on the bodies of the enemies that were left behind, but Baron Lubrick was able to figure out who they were with one glance.

This was because he had received a magic communication just before from Marquis Ross to secretly send Sigma to Princess Oleciren.

“I shouldn’t have done it!”

He had let her and a few of 〈Ross de Kaerot〉’s knights board without registering them on the passenger list, which even the princess was required to do.

If you compared the times, you could see that she would have boarded in Mainus and then changed trains at an intermediate station to get on the princess’s train.

Gulp.

Director Lubrick ran his hand across his throat.

With the situation escalating to this extent, Marquis Ross would surely abandon him.

And the Royal Knights who came to investigate the incident would look for the passenger list first of all……

“They’ll notice the discrepancy right away.”

Tick-tock.

With the countdown to his death beginning, Director Lubrick decided to rush to the Mainus Transfer Station as quickly as possible and beg for mercy from Princess Oleciren.

He was grateful to Marquis Ross for promoting him, a son from a baron family with nothing to his name, to the position of Director-General of Airian Railways. But now, his life and the lives of his family were at stake.

Tap━.

With an anxious expression, he took out his pocket watch and checked the time.

The train carrying the princess was due to arrive any minute.

“Faster!”

Although he had given instructions to prepare in advance, he couldn’t shake off his unease and urged the driver to hurry, wanting to arrive as early as possible.

Clang-clang-clang-clang━!

At that moment, outside the carriage window…

He looked up at the sound of a train roaring past.

If Mainus was a land port, it stood to reason that there would be land ships as well.

A giant, white ship was rushing forward with an incredible amount of steam next to his small carriage.

Its ten wheels spun so fast that they seemed to bend, and the massive, spotless white hull it supported appeared almost sacred.

Lubrick stuck his head out the window and muttered as he watched the rear of the rapidly disappearing white ship.

“Where is Archbishop Barbetta, known for his slow pace, going in such a hurry……!”

He abruptly stopped speaking.

This road only led to the Mainus Transfer Station, so there was only one possible destination.

Himself, the Director-General of Railways, Archbishop Barbetta, the head of all clergymen on Airian Island, and Princess Oleciren.

Feeling a sense of dread about how things would unfold, he instinctively made the sign of the cross and looked up at the night sky.

“Oh, Light, please let me keep my life until my grandchild grows up.”

He made his utterly mundane wish and continued his journey.

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