"Tsk."
Bishop Bason, the bishop of the Grave Duchy.
He wiped the sweat incessantly, muttering as he did so.
"Why does Denver inspect me so insistently, yet non beliver resists… Anyway, that's why unbelievers are not allowed."
Displeasing.
Wasn't he chosen as a bishop favored by the great Denver?
Then why do they reject him like this?
If they were to join him, they would surely receive Denver's grace and head to paradise.
He struggled to rise with his bulky body.
But soon, a wicked smile crept onto his lips.
"That heretic… Those inferior beings who interfere with my plans without even knowing the subject. They're not even citizens of the Empire, but come from the frontier of the continent. How dare they obstruct my work, I cannot forgive them. I will interrogate them without regard for means or methods, inflicting the most excruciating torture. Surely Denver would have wanted that!"
"Is the interrogation ready, Priest Celine?"
"Y-Yes, but…"
Following the bishop's order, a priest preparing for the interrogation spoke with a subtle expression.
"There seems to be a slight… problem, Your Grace."
"A problem?"
"Yes, it's about the heretic we've imprisoned underground…"
"What kind of problem is it?"
"Well…"
The hesitating priest closed his eyes tightly and shouted, "Th-The tools are not working!"
"What?"
"We tried to use the interrogation tools to pierce the heretic's skin before starting the interrogation, but we couldn't penetrate it at all."
The bishop blinked as if he had misheard.
Did I hear that right?
The temple's interrogation tools can't pierce human skin?
"Did you properly put on the aura restraint?"
"Yes, of course. We even checked if it was an aura but it seems the skin is just tough and resilient…"
"Does that make sense?"
"I-I'm sorry…"
The priest bowed his head, sweating coldly. At the same time, the bishop's face contorted.
"You useless fools! Can't even interrogate one heretic, will Denver look kindly upon you!"
"I'm sorry, Your Grace…"
The priest bowed his head so deeply it seemed he would touch the ground.
The bishop struck the priest's cheek heavily.
Smack!
"You incompetent fool!"
After hitting the priest's cheek a few more times, the bishop took a deep breath and started walking.
"Let me show you what interrogation is. How can we call ourselves priests if we can't even interrogate one heretic!"
Determined to subdue the heretic with his own piety, he moved forward.
The lack of piety among the priests below was truly astonishing.
Suppressing his anger, he arrived in the underground to interrogate the heretic, only to witness an unexpected scene.
Someone was crouched, conversing with the heretic.
"Hmm, I see. So that pig tried to forcibly take a woman?"
"That's right."
"He's a real scoundrel. I can't understand why I didn't kill him sooner."
Saying so, the figure behind continued to converse for a while, regardless of the bishop's presence.
"Who goes there!"
The bishop shouted nervously. How dare someone be so disrespectful in front of him, the duchy's bishop?
"How dare you act so recklessly in front of me, the bishop!"
Only then did the figure turn around.
And the face revealed…
"…Your Highness?"
"Yes, it's me."
Duke Kyle Grave.
He should have been a boy who should have been relaxed and comfortable, being supported by those who had gone to the duchy by now.
For some reason, the boy, Kyle, stared at the bishop with an unruly attitude and smirked.
"So stiff."
"…Excuse me?"
The bishop muttered blankly.
Thud!
"Cough!"
An oppressive pressure was applied to his shoulders, making him collapse without even thinking about resisting.
"What is this?"
The bishop couldn't understand.
Why was there a duke in the underground where the heretics were held, and why was that duke persecuting him!
"Your… Highness…"
"What? I'm the duke of the Empire, the owner of this land, Grave."
With a cold gaze, Kyle stared at the bishop.
"But you're too stiff in front of me, the duke."
Thud!
Again, the pressure forced the kneeling bishop down. He looked up at Kyle with trembling eyes.
In the dark underground, only his shining golden eyes sparkled.
"Is this Kyle Grave?"
The bishop remembered.
At least the "Kyle Grave" he remembered was not like this.
He was certainly naive for his age, easily influenced by others' words. At least he wasn't like this, emitting such a monstrous aura.
"Grr…"
With his head drooping like a frog, the bishop, now flattened on the ground, heard Kyle speak with a satisfied expression.
"Now you look interesting."
Now he looked like a false preacher, abusing his faith for the means of desire.
* * *
"Grrr!"
Before me, a pig was passionately kissing the ground.
Although he seems to have the title of Bishop Bason, let's just say he's a pig.
No, should I apologize to the pig for saying that? I don't know. Let's just say he's a pig.
Anyway.
"You must have been comfortable. Doing whatever you want, using the glory of the Holy Church to commit all kinds of atrocities."
"Y-Your Highness! How dare you speak so rudely! I am the bishop of the Holy Church! I will not stand idly by in the Holy Kingdom…"
"Just shut up."
Crack!
"Gwaaaah!"
Why do all these guys say the same things?
Do they think they can get away with it just because there's something behind me…
Anyway, they won't shut up.
I grabbed the bishop's hair, who was writhing on the ground, and lifted him up.
"You were the one who acted rudely."
"W-What…"
"You insulted my territory. A representative of my territory, the bishop of the diocese, tried to forcibly intimidate and molest a woman?"
"W-What are you talking about…"
"It seemed quite magnificent when I investigated."
With that, I slammed the bishop's head back onto the ground.
Thud!
"Aaah!"
Of course, such guys never easily admit their faults.
If they had been conscientious enough to admit it to this extent, they wouldn't have come this far.
"Rape, coercion, murder, and… "
The sin that honestly made me doubt my eyes when I first saw the report.
"….Pedophilia."
What a bastard, seriously.
It's a damn shame I left scum like this unscathed before my regression, really.
If Namgoong saw this, he would have said to me.
– Cut off their genitals, Kyle.
There's no value in keeping the scum who prey on children intact.
Even more so for those who exploit a religion that people trust without suspicion.
"How can these… "
"There's a way to know all about them."
Luckily, there were people nearby who professionally dealt with this kind of information.
It's a really good thing.
"If you think being in the position of an archbishop or bishop will protect you, you're mistaken. I am an imperial duke, and I have the right to dispose of you on the spot."
"A-Are you not considering the relationship with the Holy Empire! No matter how much you are a duke, you can't ignore the Holy Empire like this…!"
"It's okay."
I smirked.
After hearing what he had to say, was he trying to bring up the Holy Empire again?
"I am higher than you."
"….Excuse me?"
The bishop looked at me with wide eyes.
He must be wondering what I'm talking about.
Instead of answering, I quietly showed him the stigma on the back of my hand.
Even if he's a corrupt clergyman, there's no way he wouldn't notice this stigma.
The bishop's eyes widened.
"A s-stigma? H-how… "
"Well, for some reason."
I called the inquisitor, Cediar, who had been quietly watching everything from behind.
"Inquisitor Cediar."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Cediar appeared with a polite attitude, holding a cudgel used for judging heretics in one hand.
"Inquisitor? Why are you holding that cudgel…?"
"Inquisitor."
Ignoring the bishop, I asked Cediar, "According to the doctrine of the Holy Faith, how should those who have committed the sins I listed earlier be punished?"
"They should be castrated."
"W-What?!"
The bishop screamed at Cediar's calm answer.
Denver was a rather strict god. He greatly warned against heresy, and naturally, the severity of punishment for heresy was heavy.
The problem was that with Denver, who held the reins, gone, human greed took its place.
Anyway, this is the result.
And.
"I have to castrate him now."
At least until Denver returns, the Holy Faith must endure.
"Inquisitor."
At my command, Cediar stepped forward with the cudgel slung over his shoulder.
The bishop, looking pale, shouted, "Inquisitor! Wait! I am bason, and bishop…!"
Thud.
"I don't know what you're thinking right now, but it's slander! There's no way I could have committed such despicable sins!"
Thud.
Cediar did not respond.
He just raised the cudgel in his hand, which he had not yet brought down, and looked straight at the bishop.
"I understand now, Your Grace."
"Yes, but… what…"
"Faithfulness does not necessarily prove morality."
As soon as Cediar finished speaking, he brought down the cudgel.
Thunk!
It was the moment when a bishop's masculinity met its end.
* * *
"Ka… Ah…"
I looked at the bishop, who was foaming at the mouth, blood trickling from his groin.
Surprisingly, he's not dead.
"I have removed his masculinity according to the doctrine. Since the treatment is complete, his life should not be in danger."
Cediar said, wiping the blood off the cudgel.
"Afterwards, shall we leave it to the discretion of our homeland, or how would you like to proceed, Your Highness?"
"Do as you wish. Just send a message with a suitable message."
"A message…?"
"There is a message that will make them feel very ashamed over there."
If she is still in the Holy Empire, she will see this and take care of it herself.
"Yes, I will do so."
Cediar nodded without further questioning my words.
Since showing him the stigma, Cediar's gaze at me has been like seeing a saint, which is good for me.
I didn't deceive Cediar in the first place.
Then the bishop must be finished.
Now all that's left is…
"Since we can release the shackles at any time, can we release them now?"
Einherjar .
And in response to my words, Einherjar , who had been watching the events with interest, neatly released the shackles.
"Hmm!"
Thud!
Leaving the shackles behind, Einherjar slowly got up.
"I've released them, fearless boy!"
Einherjar said as he confidently walked towards me.
"A boy who is a duke!"
"Yes."
"I see. Then I ask!"
With a look of determination and no hesitation in his eyes, Einherjar asked me.
"Why, as the master, did you let this land become such a mess!"
"…."
Thud!
A question that stabbed my chest like a dagger without any preparation.
But the answer was already decided.
"Because I was an idiot?"