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“Trouble?”

Held in Sufi’s arms, I asked Chytis Khaleed.

“Yes. It seems a rather troublesome guest has arrived… Langbert, where are the children?”
“They’ve been evacuated to the back with knights assigned… Is it a bad opponent?”
“Decently so.”

Footsteps echoed through the hallway. The sound of fabric brushing grew closer—the rustle of long, loose hems. Not a knight.

I thought it might be Sister, but the pace was far too slow.

“Someone’s coming.”

The argument ceased, and before the wary knights and us, the door to the common room opened.

A creaking sound split the sudden silence.

“O Light God who illuminates us… hear the prayers of these sinful ones, and grant them a chance for atonement.”

A young woman in her late teens. From her black habit came the strong smell of fresh blood.

Lit by candlelight, she appeared to be a nun dressed similarly to Sister. However, from the rapier in her hand, red liquid dripped onto the floor.

“…Who are you?”
“I am a faithful servant of the Light God, one who carries out His will and saves the people.”
“An order of templar knights specializing in inquisitions, the Nameless Order… an assassin kept by the cardinal faction, I presume. She’s a professional killer. Best be careful.”
“So dangerous types have been moving around. Was this whole uproar orchestrated by your faction?”
“I ask you not to accuse me of such a horrid thing. I swear to God, I have never once killed a human being.”

The knights quietly radiated killing intent, hands resting on their sword hilts.

“Speaking of which, I am pretty sure I have stationed my knights along the way here.”
“I have delivered divine punishment for them. Worry not, I do not inflict unnecessary suffering.”
“And you claimed you’ve never killed a person?”
“Why, of course. I am a servant of the Light God who illuminates the future of all human beings. I could never do something so cruel.”

The woman smiled gently, still holding the bloodstained blade.

She wasn’t lying. Not at all. Her voice carried the same gentle, warm tone as Sister’s.

“Then why did you kill my men? Why did you close the gates on those attacked by monsters in this chaos, when they were seeking help?”
“Sheltering base beasts, siding with heretics, joining hands with unbelievers and defying the teachings of the Light God…your kind are not humans, obviously. It is only because monsters like you are occupying this town, pretending to be human, that many devoted believers are losing sleep in fear! It is the duty of us Templar Knights to hunt down such monsters. Therefore, we burn these souls so they become the light that illuminates the future of all life.”

Without a shred of falsehood or guilt, the woman spoke in a gentle tone, as if explaining to a child… and then pointed her sword at us.

Some people have learned to kill their emotions through training, and she is not one of them. People like that have stiff, flat voices.

Her voice is completely natural. She genuinely believes in that way of thinking and acts according to her own brand of justice.

…People like this are troublesome. You can’t distinguish them by sound.

“…I see. I guess we really can’t reason with the current Luminism Church. Attack!”
“Yes!”
“Raah!!”

Knights stationed nearby kicked aside tables and charged. Their speed and decisiveness were on a completely different level from the ones who attacked earlier.

But the woman evaded their blades with mere shifts of her body, and with a returning strike, pierced one knight through the heart.

“Gah—”
“Gilliam!?”
“*Gale Slash*!”

Langbert dashed through the cries, his sword cloaked in emerald light, sweeping upward. The slash carried a gale strong enough to reach us, carving deep cuts into the floor and walls.

But the woman coolly avoided it and aimed the tip of her rapier at Langbert as he finished his swing.

“I would prefer you refrain from further misconduct.”
“…What a stubborn monster.”

Chytis Khaleed’s kick knocked her blade off course. As her thrust missed, the knights brought their swords down, but she leapt back at tremendous speed, escaping their range.

“Th-that one’s insanely strong, nya.”
“Sufi’ll protect you, Alice…”
“Sufi, it’s okay. Stay with me.”

While calming Sufi behind the knights shielding us, I slipped my hand into my pocket and gripped the beam rifle. The rounds were already loaded—I could fire at any moment if needed.

In front of us, Langbert pressed the attack while Chytis Khaleed interfered from the side, disrupting the woman’s movements.

From time to time, Khaleed’s slender arm would reach toward her sword, and the moment she noticed, she would immediately stop her attack and create distance. This would keep repeating.

“Heretical arts are troublesome.”
“I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Khaleed seemed to be aiming to destroy her weapon with Forging, but the woman, perhaps accustomed to fighting alchemists, skillfully avoided it. …A battle of this caliber is too far beyond me to intervene.

“O Rampaging Lightning, bring heavenly judgment upon this fool—‘Thunder Spear.’”
“O Throne of the High Heavens (False Eden), O Noble Star (Instigator), O my Radiant Lord (Twisted Rotted Bone-Serpent), grant us who lack strength a sacred vessel to repel suffering—‘Sanctuary.’”

………?

That chant just now sounded strange. It was like some kind of noise overlapped it.

As the spell activated, a white glowing sigil spread from beneath her feet. When Khaleed’s spell touched the light it emitted, it was erased.

An anti-magic technique that interferes with or forcibly dismantles constructed formulas, is it?

“Wasn’t her chant weird just now?”
“I don’t get magic stuff, nya.”
“Eh? Um, sorry, I don’t know either.”
“Hmm? It sounded normal?”

Even after asking, Noche, Filia, and Sufi didn’t seem to notice anything strange. The knights also dismissed it when I glanced at them.

…Maybe it’s nothing to worry about.

“Proxy Magic, is it?”
“It is a Divine Art that reproduces the miracles of God, permitted only to those with pure hearts. Please do not mistake it.”
“My apologies. ‘Goshuugeki (Bold Kick)’¹”