The Case of Being Reincarnated as a Heretic Mob Character in an Eroge Where Everyone is Extremely Determined - Chapter 46

Chapter 46: To the Northeast Branch

Passing through the old castle stronghold, Stella-sama’s party embarks on the third day of their journey.

The carriage, loaded with cargo, has been running non-stop.

We are, so to speak, the enemies of the Holy Nation Geluid, so we avoid the main roads used by merchant groups to keep a low profile, and instead, we take routes that cut through the bad roads of forests and mountains.

Stopping at settlements to stay overnight is not an option, so our only supplies are the water and food we packed for the journey.

There are no breaks except when the horses need them, and at night we slow down and travel by the light of the moon.

Even while sleeping, we are jostled by the suspension-less carriage, and there is not a single second to rest body and soul.

Moreover, since we commoners take turns driving the horses, the title-less Believers are quite exhausted—but I can’t help but think at least it’s better because we are able to travel safely.

Being exposed to the wind and rain and being shaken by the rough roads until we’re dead tired would still be considered cute.

If we’re found by the Orthodoxy Executive comes after us, all the general Believers except for Joanne and Stella would literally be scattered.

Furthermore, even if we’re not directly found by someone from the Orthodoxy, it’s also over if we’re spotted by the summoned beast controlled by Kenneth, the fifth-ranked Orthodox Executive—Ziata Commod.

That’s just luck. To avoid being found by a patrolling stealth entity, all we ordinary Believers could do was pray.

We’re approaching the fourth day of our journey.

Finally, the land is changing color, and the white of the snow is becoming more prominent than the green of the plants.

I had earned the title of Joanne-sama’s personal hug pillow during these four days, but because I had been squeezed so tightly, my right side was stiff and sore.

Even when it was my turn to watch the horses, my dominant hand was numb, and I couldn’t grip the reins properly.

In the midst of a horse’s rest, as I was finishing up a big one in the bushes, an unfamiliar Heretic began to squat beside me, pulling down his trousers.

It was with tremendous force. As I pinched my nose and contorted my face wondering why he had to defecate so close to me, the man, even in the midst of defecation, started talking to me with a Heretic smile. His eyes were wild.

“Oakley-senpai, hey!”

“…Hey there?”

“I’m Alex, nice to meet you!”

Alex… He must be one of the Heretics who admired me and followed me.

He had a buzz cut that looked like skin and bones, dyed blond, and one of his front teeth was missing.

Also, there were dark circles under his eyes, and it seemed he couldn’t focus properly.

It’s not good to judge people by their appearance, but appearance is one of the materials for judging people.

Like a female Executive of the cult, they reeked of being a landmine, the very type of person you wouldn’t want to associate with.

“…Alex, I’m taking a dump, so please stop cheerfully talking to me. And don’t peek in, just back off normally.”

“Ah… sorry. But, you know, we’re not on the same carriage, so this is the only time I can talk to Senpai. Please listen to your cute junior’s story.”

I tried to continue ignoring him, but this type of person will keep on chattering no matter what face you make.

With an exasperated expression on my face, Alex began to happily explain why he had fallen for Oakley-senpai.

It seems that what made him fall for me was the proposal and execution of the Daskell surprise attack fortress plan.

Looking back, it was an excessive way to earn Aaros points, but that excessiveness seemed to hide my own psychology.

Being praised by a guy who seemed like a drug junkie, saying ‘Senpai, you’re seriously crazy’, was a strange feeling.

“First of all, I’m not your Senpai or anything, I’m just a marker. I’d like you to stop talking like that.”

Speaking of the internal hierarchy of the Aaros Temple Order, indeed, as Executive Joanne’s exclusive marker, I might be considered a Senpai.

Given that I’m even provided a private room at the Metashim sanctuary base, my actual treatment must be quite high-ranking relative to the ordinary Believer.

However, I still haven’t been given an official position, so my rank is that of a peon.

The role of a marker is only given during operations.

Another reason I disliked being called ‘Senpai’ was because Alex looked older.

Whether he came from a womb bag or not, he looked older visually.

“What’s wrong with that, it’s between me and Senpai, right?”

“Is it our first meeting?”

“No, no. During the Metashim invasion, I was right behind you. It’s true we haven’t spoken before, but our eyes met, didn’t they, or maybe they didn’t?”

“Is that so?”

There are quite a few extreme humans like Alex.

Plus, he probably didn’t remember because we were wearing a hood.

I was deep in thought with my butt exposed when I suddenly came to my senses.

…Won’t these cult people even let me relieve myself in peace?

Before I knew it, I had been swept up in Alex’s pace and forcibly dragged into conversation.

This is why these smooth talkers are such a pain.

Can’t they just let me have a break while I’m in the toilet?

“Hey, senpai, you haven’t been going at all since a while ago.”

“…I’ve got diarrhea.”

“Even someone as amazing as you get the runs, huh? Excuse me for going ahead, if I don’t hurry, they’ll leave me behind〜”

Wiping his bottom with leaves, Alex returned to the carriage with a burst of laughter.

In this world, there is no such thing as toilet paper or tissues.

One has to make do with a rope set up near a river, a seemingly clean plant that’s fallen to the ground, or simply use their own hand to clean themselves.

It was these little things that added a subtle stress and attacked me.

(…Lately, it’s just been diarrhea, and I don’t feel hungry at all. I should probably ask Stella to let me sleep. During diarrhea and stomach pains, it feels like the end of the world…)

Whether it’s due to stress or the chronic ill health caused by that exchange, I feel like I’ve lost weight since a few months ago.

When I returned to the carriage, it seemed the group had been waiting for me, and they resumed their journey.

“…Oakley, you stink.”

“I’m sorry, I have diarrhea.”

“Huh, even you get diarrhea, huh?”

“What kind of remark is that? I’m human too.”

“But… Stella… you know?”

“…It’s surprising because Oakley doesn’t seem like someone who would get diarrhea.”

What’s with these people?

I held back a click of my tongue and tried to lie down in a huff, using my arm as a pillow and leaning against the edge.

But Joanne pulled me up by my upper body, forcibly making me rest my head on her lap.

From my point of view, all I could see was the bulge of a taut dress shirt, and I couldn’t make out Joanne’s expression.

“…I’ll tell you something good… All the Executives of the Aaros Temple Order don’t need to perform excretory functions.”

“Is that true, Joanne-sama?”

“It’s only natural. Being an executive, we don’t do mundane things like use the toilet.”

After being told an incomprehensible joke by the two of them, I fell asleep.

We blended into the darkness and the mountain paths, approaching the northeast branch without anyone noticing—

—And then, on the seventh day.

“It’s coming into view. That must be the northeast branch.”

Joanne approached the window I was looking out of and pointed at a specific spot in the landscape.

Hidden by the rugged mountains and the accumulated snow, the northeast branch base quietly opened its mouth.

It was just a cave with no landmarks, a hidden cavern that even someone with an excellent sense of the land might not be able to find.

Thanks to Stella generating heat to melt the snow, we’ve been able to continue on the road, but without her power, we might have been lost in the snow, unconscious, possibly frozen to death.

The narrowness of the entrance and the poor visibility also played a part in stealth, as it couldn’t be seen until one was quite close, hidden by snow and trees.

Once we passed through the narrow entrance that was barely wide enough for a carriage, walls blackened by torch smoke were illuminated.

After a while, the interior space opened up, and a group of hooded figures holding torches surrounded the carriage.

Stella signaled with her gaze to ‘open the door’, so I opened the carriage door and led her into the cave.

When Stella and Joanne disembarked, Alex and the other Believers tumbled out of the carriage, visibly exhausted.

I was tired enough to want to collapse as well, but having come with Joanne and Stella, I couldn’t afford to sprawl out on the ground.

As a prospective Executive, I also didn’t want to be looked down upon by Whip Fanitusk, who might be here.

Stella approached the hooded group.

Her voice was higher than usual, but she looked over them with an utterly composed demeanor.

“…Everyone, I’m back.”

As her voice echoed through the cave, the Heretics from the Northeast branch began to swarm around Stella with a sudden burst of energy.

One by one, they removed their hoods, revealing their scarred faces.

The rough-looking group seemed familiar with Stella, conversing with her, and it appeared that she was trusted in a different way than Aaros.

A short distance away, Celestia, who had arrived at the Northeast branch ahead of them, showed her face.

Even amidst the pitch-black crowd, she did not seem out of place, standing with her arms crossed.

“Oakley, Joanne, you’re late. I was getting tired of waiting.”

Celestia smiled as she spoke. Joanne started talking to her, and unusually, I was left alone.

While watching Stella being jostled by her comrades, the blonde buzz-cut Alex crept up beside me.

It was a good opportunity, so I decided to ask Alex, who seemed to be well-informed, about Whip Fanitusk.

“Alex, do you know a Believer named Whip Fanitusk?”

“Whip-senpai? Of course, I know her! She’s like a hero here at the Northeast branch.”

“Who is it?”

“It’s that one.”

Alex’s twig-like fingers pointed to a spot.

Among the group of men who had thrown off their hoods, there was a strikingly different figure mixed in—a woman.

Although she was a head shorter than the burly men around her, she somehow had an aura that was…how should I say it, Executive class aura.

A girl with long blonde hair dressed in a Kenneth Orthodox nun’s robe.

Even from a distance, there was something about her, her bone structure or her flesh, perhaps, that made her appearance seem not quite human.

Objectively speaking, she was definitely a classic beauty, but there was an unsettling feeling that made it impossible to look away.

She was different from Joanne, Stella, Celestia… She was a girl enveloped in an atmosphere similar to Aaros.

“Welcome back, Stella-chan! Have you been well?”

“…It’s so-so… maybe Stella finds the climate here more comfortable.”

A dazzling beauty with so-called shiitake eyes (Sparkling eyes). About the same height as me… just a bit over 170 cm.

Whip Fanitusk is joking around with Stella and throws a glance my way.

“Oh, are you Oakley Mercury-chan? The irregular known as the masterpiece from the womb bag?”

“Sure, I’m Oakley, but I’ve never heard such an evaluation.”

For a moment, gazes are exchanged.

Nothing could be read from her shiitake eyes.

She shifts her gaze away from me and, looking at Joanne and Alex, raises her voice.

“Nice to meet you, everyone, I’m Whip Fanitusk! Thank you for coming all the way from the holy land Metashim! Everything is ready to welcome you, so please come on in!”

Whip gestures for Stella and Joanne to follow her into the cave, and seeing this, Alex jumps for joy.

“Wow, you’re welcome! It’s kind of nice, Senpai, it’s like I’m a guest or something~”

There was no way the welcome party was a trap… However, as she was a subordinate of Stella, I had no choice but to be cautious about this hospitality.