The Case of Being Reincarnated as a Heretic Mob Character in an Eroge Where Everyone is Extremely Determined - Chapter 64

Chapter 64: The Men’s Gathering

“Even so, you have quite the――peculiar left hand, don’t you?”

I look down at my own left hand.

Comparing it to the five fingers of my right hand, its strangeness becomes starkly apparent.

The knobby index finger. The middle finger, drawing a thin and supple curve. The ring finger, a size smaller and pathologically white.

I don’t understand the reason for this hand myself, but no matter how much I try to rationalize it, I am not sure why.

The hand of a monster. The hand of an aberration. The hand of a devil.

Dozens of words come to mind at a glance.

After all, a person who carries around three different fingers is not normal by any means.

“I’m sorry. I have no idea either…”

“Well, that’s understandable. You don’t even know your own name, let alone what a Magical Beast is.”

Makena-san stares rudely and intently at my left hand.

To speculate about the reason for this left hand, it’s possible that before I lost my memory, I had a collecting habit of gathering other people’s fingers.

Combined with my previous slight cannibalistic desire, this seems to be a realistic explanation.

…No, is it realistic?

Anyway, my left hand should not be so readily shown to others.

Makena-san, who seems to have arrived at the same conclusion, handed me a pair of black gloves.

“Keep that hand hidden. No matter how you think about it, it should not be shown off to others.”

“Y-yes… But to be so kind to someone of unknown identity… I don’t know how to thank you.”

“It’s just a whim of mine. Besides, it’s only natural to help someone who’s injured.”

“Makena-san…”

I was glad that the first person I met was such a good person.

Holding back the tears welling up, I deeply bowed my head to her.

“…By the way, Makena-san, what is a ‘Heretic’?”

The treatment wasn’t over yet. While ointment was being rubbed into my shoulder, I decided to ask Makena-san about ‘Heretic.’

According to her, a ‘Heretic’ seems to refer to an organization called the ‘Aaros Temple Order’ that opposes Kenneth Orthodox.

I didn’t know much about Kenneth Orthodox either, so as I was getting an explanation of the jargon, more specialized terms were used, and my confusion only grew.

“The executives of Kenneth Orthodox can use magic. I’ve never met them, but I’ve heard they are very great people.”

“Is that so?”

“You might not understand much about Kenneth Orthodox yet, but you can take your time to learn.”

Wrapped in bandages around my upper body, I let out a scream when Makena-san, declaring, “All done!” slapped my shoulder.

“Ouch!! What are you doing!?”

“You need to rest for a while. Well… stay here for two or three weeks.”

“That long!? I have places I need to go, I can’t stay that long.”

“Places you have to go?”

“I can’t explain it well… but it seems I have some business in the Holy City Sasfect. On the day of the Phantom Night Holy Festival… I have to be there…”

“You don’t know about Kenneth Orthodox, but you know about the Holy City Sasfect and the Phantom Night Holy Festival… Isn’t that a contradiction?”

“That is…”

Makena-san furrowed her brows.

Being confronted with an objective and seemingly natural opinion, I become even more confused about myself.

What is that voice that drives me?

Although I’m grateful for the help, I am too self-conscious to confront Makena-san.

“I’m even more confused now. You seem to be very suspicious.”

“…I-I’m sorry. If you could just give me the directions to the Holy City, I’ll leave right away. I don’t want to cause you any more trouble…”

It seems better to continue wandering than to be a burden to her.

As I mumble this with my head down, Makena-san gently wraps her hand around my left and says, “I don’t think you’re a bother at all.”

I lock gazes with hers. Makena-san seems to see her son Steve in me.

“There’s a three-month grace period until the Phantom Night Holy Festival. Besides, Holy City Sasfect is close enough to reach even after healing your injuries. First, you need to heal. That’s your duty.”

“…”

“…Well, the sun is about to set for today, so go to sleep. A healthy lifestyle is the best way to heal an injury.”

Not only did she treat a stranger like me, but it seemed she was also letting me stay at her house.

She said, “I’ll sleep on the sofa,” brought over a blanket, and helped me, who couldn’t move due to the dull pain, to the bedroom.

“Thank you so much…”

“It’s fine, a woman like me is in her prime when she can work hard for the young. Good night.”

“Good night.”

The lights went out.

Every time I moved my body, my upper body hurt, but once I lay down, I was surprisingly able to fall asleep quickly.

The next day, several villagers crowded into Makena-san’s house.

They were the men who had let me through when I first came to the village with Makena-san.

They surrounded me, lying down and exhausted, already poised with a barrage of questions.

Makena-san, who had been outside, admonished the visiting men, saying, “There’s an injured person here,” but perhaps knowing they had no intention of attacking me, she didn’t comment further and proceeded to change my bandages.

Makena-san might know them, but to me, they were almost strangers I was meeting for the first time.

I suppose my wariness was somewhat lessened by the fact that they lived in the same village as her, but since it was my first time talking to them, I couldn’t help but look at them with a certain degree of suspicion.

A middle-aged man, who chuckled at my attitude, sat down slowly and directly in front of me.

“Hey, don’t be so wary, boy. It’s not like we’re going to eat you or anything, we just want to know what happened when you were attacked by the Magical Beast.”

“For us ordinary folks, the existence of Magical Beasts is a matter of the village’s survival. I’m sorry to bring this up while you’re badly injured, but please understand our feelings.”

The monster I had defeated the other day seems to be a type of Magical Beast that ravages crops and even people themselves.

In the vicinity of this village, that type of beast appears most frequently, and three years ago, it caused numerous casualties in a neighboring settlement.

After receiving such an explanation, I thought, indeed, if a creature of that level attacked a group, there would be no chance of survival.

“…Alright. Then I’ll give you a brief story of what happened.”

They had already heard from Makena-san that I had amnesia, so the explanation around that went smoothly.

However, as soon as I started talking about the Magical Beast I encountered, the men’s faces grew cloudy.

The individual I encountered was about chest height, and if you consider its total length when it was standing, it easily surpassed the height of an adult male.

Its fur was jet black, and no half-hearted attack would work on it.

There was only one Magical Beast, and I didn’t see any other Magical Beasts around.

After I finished describing the battle, they looked at each other and began to talk all at once.

“In terms of size, it’s a typical quadruped adult… but it’s troubling that such a large Magical Beast was wandering alone in the forest.”

“If that Magical Beast was a scout for a pack, that would be bad news.”

“But, since this guy here managed to make it to the village, I think that individual was a Magical Beast that had been driven out of its pack.”

I was left behind in the conversation, but indeed, it looked like the type of Magical Beast that forms a pack.

If it’s a creature that forms a pack, then naturally, it would never forgive an enemy that killed one of its own.

In other words, if that individual wasn’t a stray Magical Beast, there’s a risk that I and the people of this village could be relentlessly pursued to the ends of hell.

Whether it was an isolated Magical Beast or a scout from a herd, the conversation inevitably led to the decision to rely on the regular army of Kenneth Orthodox.

If a herd of Magical Beasts were to come to the village, it would be impossible for the civilians to handle it.

Unless trained soldiers were called in to deal with it, the villagers would simply be trampled.

However, it’s not just this village that’s suffering from damage from the Magical Beast.

The entire territory of the country is within the range of influence of Magical Beasts.

Moreover, with requests for assistance coming in from various places and the higher-ups of the Orthodox Church prioritizing the hunt for Heretics, it was unclear when help would arrive for this village.

The size of this village is small. Being geographically located in a remote area, any request for assistance would likely be put on the back burner.

The country’s soldiers are not infinite, and it’s uncertain whether the subjugation of Magical Beasts will be successful.

Soldiers who are injured become unable to fight, and if they die, it takes a great deal of time and effort to train replacements.

Suppose soldiers are stationed in various places to protect the people from Magical Beasts and maintain public order, and on top of that, heretic hunts, then the soldiers of this country must always be in a constant state of peril.

“Anyway, we have no choice but to plead with the troops stationed in the nearest town.”

“I’ll go… I can’t promise anything, but it’s better than not going at all.”

“Leaving the village for a while is forbidden. Make sure to thoroughly instruct everyone not to let anyone, including women, children, and the elderly, act alone.”

“Ah, understood. Let’s disband for today and prepare for what’s to come.”

Because I encountered a Magical Beast, it’s turned into such a big deal.

As I stood there silently, sweating profusely, a villager seemed to want to encourage me by slapping my shoulder—but then he noticed the blood-soaked bandages and realized my condition—stopped his motion just in time, and while scratching his cheek in embarrassment, he muttered.

“…boy, don’t worry about the Magical Beast problem; it’s not your fault. On the contrary, we all want to thank you.”

“Ah…”

“After all, Makena-san would have been attacked if you hadn’t defeated the Magical Beast. Haha, that would have been way worse.”

“…!”

With those words as his last, the men left Makena-san’s house.

I was supposed to be on complete bed rest, but I couldn’t stay put in this situation.

My feelings were commanding me to “move.”

I had managed to subdue a Magical Beast, a feat that even trained soldiers could fail at, with my bare hands.

If I had proper weapons and armor, depending on the size of the pack, I might be able to handle them alone.

At the very least, I should be able to buy some time.

Makena-san, who had been silent throughout, seemed to have read my emotions and sharply said just one thing, “Lie down and rest.”

I couldn’t go against her words.

For the next few days, I was filled with restless emotions, but on the fourth day since coming to the village—my body, showing a miraculous recovery, had healed enough to allow me to walk around the village.

Intense exercise was still forbidden, but it was judged that simply walking was fine.

Whether it was the effect of Makena-san’s medicine, the sturdiness of my own body, or both, I was now free to explore the village for the first time, so I began to interact with the villagers to understand the current situation.

Since I had amnesia, it was essential not only to walk around the village to get to know its geographical layout but also to engage in conversations with the villagers to absorb various kinds of knowledge.

What I particularly wanted to know was information on Magical Beasts and the two religions.

I came into contact with the lives of villagers who are Kenneth Orthodox Believers and heard from them about the Aaros Temple Order.

I asked about Magical Beasts. I just kept asking for anything that came to mind.

There were times when I couldn’t get the answers I wanted, but today, I feel like I understand a little bit more about this world.

One.

There are ‘Seven Executives’ in the Kenneth Orthodox Believers, and it is said that the country is governed by them, who have been granted magical powers.

Each Executive seems to have the power to start a war.

Two.

The Aaros Temple Order also has ‘Seven Executives’, but their true nature is mostly shrouded in a veil.

It seems that the reason why the base of the Heretics can never be found is due to the magic of the Executives, and because of this, plans against the Heretics do not progress well.

And three.

When there are no Executives or soldiers, the Orthodox Believers are so powerless that all they can do is pray to God.

While wandering through the village, I saw villagers praying to what might be a Kenneth Orthodox symbol—a peculiar monument.

There were villagers who were thinking of specific measures against Magical Beasts, but perhaps Magical Beasts are indeed too much of a burden for ordinary people—there were even those who seemed to have given up on everything and were crying out.

“God… Supreme beings… please help us…!”

“Please, please…!”

Seeing the pitiful state of those people, a burning fighting spirit was welling up in my chest.