"Nobody expects the Lyra Inquisition!"

After saying such words, Aryl alternated her gaze between me and Jake, as if expecting us to get what she was saying and burst out laughing or something.

"Uhhh...", I spoke up after a few more seconds of awkward silence. "...They will expect it if you declare it loudly like that..."

Hearing my words, Aryl's smile stiffened for a moment before she looked at me in annoyance. "Tch, you just have to ruin it, didn't you?"

"Ruin what?"

Ignoring my question, she turned towards Jake again. "Look, my point is that you don't have to worry too much. And—"

Aryl then gave him a mysterious smile. "—Be prepared. You're most likely going to get a new viscount as a ruler soon"

Finishing her words, Aryl turned around and walked further into the town.
...

"Aryl...", I said in a low voice as we were now back in our inn. "...What is your plan?"

"Didn't you hear what I said before?"

"Inquisition...?"

"Yes", Aryl grinned. "We'll be arranging an Inquisition to catch the viscount"

I looked at Aryl in admiration. "So you even know that the viscount's a heretic? Is there anything that red book of yours doesn't contain?"

Scratching the back of her head, Aryl sighed. "Actually... I don't know that much about Uqas Tyeranz"

"Huh?"

"His son is a heretic, that much I know for sure. But... the viscount himself is another story"

"..."

"Basically... I don't know whether he's a heretic or not. And even if he is, he wouldn't be as stupid as his son to let it be traced back to him"

"Then how will you mobilize the churches then?"

Aryl smiled evilly as she heard my question.

"If there's no evidence, we make them!"

I looked at Aryl in shock as I finally realized what she was talking about. "We can't frame an innocent man!"

"Innocent? Pffffft! HAHAHAH!", Aryl laughed at me. "Celi, do you really think that Uqas doesn't know about what his son was doing?"

"..."

"Furthermore, did you forget what Jake said already? He's going to 'besiege' the town"

"..."

"Jake was putting it lightly when he said that. Uqas is literally going to flatten the town to merely find me!"

"Wh- What?", I was flabbergasted. "How could you be so sure that he'd do such an evil thing?"

"Listen here, Celi", Aryl stared into my eyes as her face was now mere inches away from me. "Arrogant nobles like him would have no qualms destroying a city if it meant that they can protect that useless pride of theirs. Trust me, I should know this better than anyone else"

Hearing Aryl's unusually serious tone, I could only nod my head and accept her words.

'It seems like that Aryl's past is more complicated than I thought...'

Originally, I thought she was just an Adventurer with immense hatred for the Darkest night. However, based on the clues I've gathered over these past few days, she definitely had some ties to nobles in the past.

'Was her family killed by a noble...? Or was she a noble lady that abandoned her title herself because she was tired of all the injustice of her family?'

Whatever the case was, I could only speculate until Aryl decided to tell me it herself.

While I was speculating on Aryl's origin, she had already took out a piece of paper and wrote something on it. She then took out a black cube from thin air and handed it to me.

"What's this?", I asked confusedly as I stared at the black cube in my hands.

"Nothing much, just a Void bomb"

"VOID BOMB?", I screamed in shock as I was about to drop the bomb to the floor. However, I managed to calm myself down enough to not do so since I knew full well the consequences of the bomb hitting the floor and going off.

'Wh- What!? Who really is she? Taking out a Void bomb so nonchalantly like that!'

"Yep, Void bomb", Aryl spoke leisurely, unaware of my thoughts. "I confiscated them from some Cultists a few days ago. Never really expected it to come in handy in any ways whatsoever but here we are"

"S- So... what do you want me to do with it?"

"It's simple...", Aryl said with an evil smile as she handed the piece of paper along with a peculiar brooch to me. "...Deliver this letter and show the brooch to a church, and then place the bomb in the viscount's estate"

I stared at the bomb and the letter in my hands in silent, trying to come to terms with the fact that I was going to frame a man for the crime he didn't do, whether he was evil or not.

As I was sorting out my jumbled emotions though, Aryl suddenly spoke up again. "Ah, I almost forgot!"

She then took out another piece of paper and scribbled something on it. After finishing writing on the paper, she handed it to me.

"Place this besides the bomb when you get to his estate"
...

After getting only 5 hours of sleep, I departed towards the nearest church to the town - A church of Wind.

As I had just left the town though, I suddenly had a weird thought.

'Wait... why do I have a feeling that something's wrong?'

After thinking deeply about it for a few more minutes, I finally realized what was wrong.

"Huh? I think Aryl misspoke..."

After all, she told me to deliver the letter to the church and then plant the bomb in the viscount's estate, not the other way around.

'And someone who's devoted to the Gods would definitely be able to sense the Void bomb is I merely kept it in my space-enhanced backpack'

As such, I changed my course to the viscount's estate instead of the nearest Church of Wind.

"I almost died there... Aryl should really think things through before giving me a mission next time..."
...

It took me 6 hours to arrive at the estate. And when I did, I couldn't help but to tremble in nervousness.

"S- So Jake was really telling the truth..."

From the way that all the guards and knights were running around the grounds of the estate, carrying boxes of swords, spears, and armors around, one would think that the viscount was preparing for massive war against the Kingdom or something.

"Luckily, I came prepared...", I muttered as I took out a set of armors from my backpack.

The armors were standard issue armors given by the Empire to nobles below count rank. As such, I was sure that viscount Tyeranz's knights would also wear this.

After much difficulties, I was finally able to put on the armors.

"Come on Araceli, you got this!"

And with those words of encouragement directed at myself, I hurriedly climbed the wall and into the viscount's estate.
...

Thanks to everyone being busy with the preparations for the 'siege', I could walk around the estate practically undetected.

Well, at least undetected until an old maid stopped me dead in my track.

"Young knight, may I ask a question?"

I turned around to face the maid. "Sure..."

"I've been watching you for quite a while now. You were walking around like you're looking for something"

"..."

Seeing that I was keeping silence, the maid laughed. "Oh, no need to be embarrassed. Even I sometimes forget the way around this huge estate, not to mention a novice knight like you! Now tell me, what are you looking for?"

"The basement...", I decided to tell her the truth.

"Why are you looking for it?", she raised an eyebrow at my question.

'To frame the viscount as a heretic'

"To... get the alcohol. Some senior knights made me go get their secret stash they kept in the basement for them..."

I was absolutely disgusted at myself for lying to such a nice old lady right now.

"Oh, poor girl!", the maid exclaimed, unaware of my inner turmoil. "Was it Charles? I swear I'll give him a good scolding if I ever run into him!"

Scratching the back of my helmet, I stuttered. "S- So... can you tell me where it is?"

"Of course", she then pointed towards the direction of the basement. "Just follow that path for a few minutes and go down the stairs when you see it. But remember to immediately tell me if Charles try to do anything indecent to you, okay?"

"R- Right. Thank you!"
...

Just like the old maid had said, there was really a stair leading underground. The stair was connected to an ominous wooden door, one that seemed really out of place in this otherwise spotless mansion.

As I took a step down the stairs, however, the door was swung open, and 2 knights walked out of it. One had brown hair and green eyes, the other had dirt blonde hair and light-blue eyes.

"Oi Charles, you sure the viscount won't find our stash here?", the brown-haired knight said.

"Of course not! The only one that uses this place is his useless son. Now that he's dead, no one will come into this plac—"

It was then that the knight presumably named Charles halted his sentence as he noticed my presence.

"How much did you hear?", he frowned at me.

Before I could even answer, the knight besides him spoke up. "Charles, I think he heard everything"

"Shut up David!", Charles scowled. "I'm asking this twerp, not you!"

He then approached me with imposing steps. "I'll ask you again. How much did you hear?"

"I- I uh..."

Suddenly, Charles widened his eyes in surprise as he looked at me with a grin. "That voice! You're a girl?"

"Yes...?"

Grinning even wider, he wrapped his hand around my neck. "Hey want to have a drink with us when all of this 'siege' bullshit is over?"

"Charles, I think you're scaring her", David interjected as he noticed me shaking.

"Tch", Charles clicked his tongue as he distanced himself away from me and glared at David. "Why are you talking like you're old Bertha? I swear to Goddess Lumaria I'll make that old maid pay for spanking me in front of our order!"

"That's justified though... you were seducing her granddaughter after all"

"I thought you promised that you'd forget about it!"

In response, David merely gave Charles a smirk while shrugging his shoulders. 

Sighing in frustration, Charles looked towards me again. "Anyways, just as David said, you probably overheard everything we said. So will you report this to the viscount? Or will you join us tonight to enjoy our wine stash?"

"Umm... I w—"

Before I could finish my sentence, Charles interrupted me yet again with a frown. "Say... I'm fairly confident in my ability to memorize things... and I'm certain that I have seduced— uh I mean met every lady knights in this estate before... are you perhaps..."

As Charles dragged his sentence out, I couldn't help but to gulp in nervousness. Even I could tell that he was at <D> rank, one minor rank higher than me. And his friend, David, was probably as strong as him.

Thus, I wasn't sure if I could outrun them, let alone fight them and win without anyone else noticing!

"...A new recruit?"

At Charles' words, I heaved an inaudible sigh of relief and lightly nodded my head.

Similarly nodding his head in understanding, Charles then looked towards my left arm. "Ah, you still haven't gotten the viscount's coat-of-arms, huh? You should probably meet the commander - my brother then"

"Commander?"

"What!?", Charles looked at me in shock. "You don't know who our commander is? What is that fucking butler even doing!? Not informing new knights of even basic information!"

He then gave me a dazzling smile. "My lady, allow me to escort you to our commander"

"I- I think I can go there myself"

"Nonsense! You didn't even know who our commander was mere seconds ago!"

"I- I'll get to him later then"

"That's not possible", David suddenly spoke up. "We're moving towards Ascurt town in a few more hours. You have to get the coat-of-arms on your armor now, or else our fellow knights won't be able to tell which side you're on"

Seeing that I had no plausible reason to refuse meeting the commander, I meekly nodded my head. "Yes... guide me please..."

Smiling, Charles spoke up again. "May I see your face, milady?"

In response, I removed my helmet, revealing my long black hair and half-mask.

"I can tell that you're a beautiful lady", Charles muttered as he observed my face. "But do tell me, why are you wearing that... half-mask?"

"Th- That's...", I stuttered as I shyly lowered my head. "...The left side of my face was burned in a fire when I was little... I- I don't want anyone to see it!"

'Ah, I lied again... how disgusting of me'

Unaware of my thoughts, Charles spoke in a sympathetic tone. "Ah, sorry for making you recall such painful memories. But I'll tell you this. Whether the left side of your face is hideous or not, I still think that you're beautiful"

"Don't listen to him", David interjected, causing Charles to frown. "He says that to every girls... Apparently he will be nice to anything that has a hole inside of a rod between its legs"

I ignored David's words and gave Charles a smile. "Thank you!"

After all, no one, not even Sera and Ronald had told me that I was 'beautiful' before. And I could tell that Charles was genuine with his words, even when he thought that the left side of my face was severely disfigured.

However, such things only caused me to feel more guilt.

'Wh- Why do I have to lie to such nice people!? W- Will I go to hell when I die...?'

My question would soon be answered, as we were now making our way towards the commander's room.

'Ah, this is my end. They'll find out that I'm not a knight and—'

—KNIGHTS! COME TO GROUND 2!

It was then that I could hear a loud voice from outside.

"Shit!", Charles cursed. "It's the viscount, he's summoning us for his bullshits again!"

He then turned towards me apologetically. "I apologize, but you'll have to go to the commander on your own. Continue walking that way and you'll reach his room"

"It's okay, I don't really mind"

Nodding his head Charles turned back as he grabbed David's hand. "Let's go, David! The viscount's going to skin us alive if we're late!"

As soon as Charles and David disappeared from my view, my legs gave out, and I weakly plopped to the ground with ragged breaths.

"Haaaaah... Haaaah... Th- That was too scary!"

I was so close to being found out!

However, my relief was soon turned into guilt.

'Am I doing the right thing...?'

After all, the maids and the knights would definitely become jobless if the viscount was arrested for heresy. And some who are closer to the viscount himself might be... arrested along with him.

However, I soon shook such thoughts from my mind.

'Focus, Araceli! Thousands of lives are at stake here!'

And with that thought, I stood up again and rushed towards the basement.
...

My journey to the basement was uneventful.

After placing down the Void bomb and the piece of paper, I escaped from the estate without much troubles.

"Guess I'll have to go the church now..."
...

It took me another 4 hours to arrive at the church of Wind. And once I got to the entrance, I was stopped by a priest.

"Welcome, child. Have you come to pray to God Vindur?"

"No, that's not it"

My response caused the priest to frown.

"Then what are you here for?"

In response, I took out the piece of paper Aryl gave me and handed it to the priest. "An Inquisitor told me to deliver this to a church"

The priest looked at me skeptically as he received the paper. Reading through it, he pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

"Look, child. I have no time for your pranks. Did you really think you can mobilize the servants of the God of Wind by giving me a mere letter allegedly from an Inquisitor whose name I don't even know?"

"You don't know Aryl?", I was surprised.

"No, never heard of him. Maybe he's from an obsolete church that's barely holding on or something"

I stared at the priest in silence, not really knowing what to do.

That was when I remembered the brooch Aryl gave me.

"Uhhh...", I took out the brooch from my backpack. "...Aryl also told me to show you this"

Upon seeing the brooch, the priest's eyes widened in shock and surprise. He then looked at me with admiration.

"Well, you should have shown this to me earlier! I never expected a servant of the Imperial princess to personally deliver this to me!"

'A WHAT!?'

I widened my eyes in absolute shock! However, I soon recovered from my shock as I noticed the priest trying to kneel down to me.

"W- Wait!"

Hearing this, the priest stopped and looked at me in confusion.

"I- I'm not the owner of this brooch. It's Aryl!"

The priest looked disappointed for some reasons. Before he regained his smile. "It doesn't matter. Since this 'Aryl' guy is a servant of princess Eleanor, and he entrusted you with this, you must be a trustworthy person!"

After thinking for a bit, he spoke up again. "You can leave now. I'll arrange for some Inquisitors to search Uqas Tyeranz's estate. And as for reinforcement to protect Ascurt town..."

He then sighed. "...We can't do anything until it's confirmed that the viscount's a heretic. And even if he's confirmed to be a heretic, we'd still have to wait for those bastard at the church of Light too. So it'll take at least 3 days for us to provide any help"

After saying that, he walked back into the church, not even sparing me a glance.

'...What the fuck just happened?'

Although what the priest said was very concerning, I was more occupied with the fact that Aryl was apparently princess Eleanor's servant.

'If that's the case then... everything makes sense!'

"Born from a maid in the Imperial palace, Aryl becomes the Imperial princess' servant from a young age. However, both she and the princess was tired of all the injustices they saw in the Royal court. Thus, princess Eleanor tasked Aryl with travelling around the Empire and cleansing injustice in her name!"

After muttering that to myself, I nodded in satisfaction. "I've solved the mystery of Aryl's identity now!"

Of course, it was purely speculation. But it was still a speculation that made a lot of sense.

"Whatever Aryl's background might be, it doesn't matter. She's my master now... And as her apprentice, I have to carry out her orders!"
...

It took me several more hours to get back to Ascurt.

I could immediately saw Aryl standing at the entrance as if she was waiting for me.

"Of course she comes back unscathed...", Aryl lets out a small mutter as soon as she saw me.

'Ah, I never knew Aryl had that much trust in me!'

As such, my mood was brightened as I ran up to her to do my report.

"Reporting! The mission was a success. The Church of Wind said that they were sending Inquisitors to the viscount's estate and we can expect reinforcement from them and the Church of Light in 3 days"

"Yes... good job...", Aryl said with a frustrated sigh.

'Of course she's frustrated... she will have to defend the town for a whole 3 days before reinforcement gets here'

"Uqas' army will most likely arrive here at noon, so go back to the inn and rest", Aryl suddenly spoke up, snapping me out of my thoughts.

Nodding, I walked back to the inn to rest.
...

"Urrrghhh", I groaned as I woke up.

Getting up and rubbing my eyes, I glanced out at the window. Judging by the position of the sun, I estimated that it was just before noon.

'I woke up just in time!'

Grabbing my crossbow and putting on my leather armors, I ran towards the town's walls, where Aryl was.

As I was getting to the town's walls, however, I noticed something strange in the atmosphere.

"Huh? Why do everyone look so... depressed?"

After all, all the guards and armed men were walking lethargically towards the walls with blank eyes. Some were even hugging their families as they hesitated to left their sides.

That was when I realized that everyone probably knew that our chances of winning this siege were extremely low, even if Aryl told them that everything would work out fine.

Eventually, I reached Aryl, who was standing on top of the town's walls.

She was looking at the town's forces with a frown on her face, clearly not satisfied with the low morale.

"Aryl, they—"

"I know", Aryl sighed, interrupting me. "Shit... we can't hold on for more than a day if everyone is depressed like this..."

Wanting to help Aryl and the town get through this situation, I fell into thoughts.

'What can I do... AH!', I exclaimed inwardly as I recalled a certain blonde knight.

"Aryl!", I called out to her. "I have an idea!"

"Go on..."

"How about you use yourself as a prize to motivate them? I mean, all men like it, right?"

'At least Charles did'

Falling into thoughts for a while, Aryl nodded her head in satisfaction. "Mmmm... that's a good idea!"

Similarly, I also nodded my head in satisfaction, feeling good that I was able to help out. However, Aryl's next words poured cold water over my good mood.

"But I won't be the one doing it"

"Huh?"

"Instead", she looked at me with an evil grin. "You'll do it!"

Instantly, all the colors were drained from my face. Flustered, I tried to come up with an excuse.

"U- Uh... I- I can't touch anyone because of my S- Skill, remember?"

"I guess you're right...", Aryl looked disappointed for some reasons.

After a while, she spoke up again. "Guess that leaves us with no other choices"

Before I could question her words—

<[B - Ash veil]>

—Ashes suddenly appeared from thin air. They then condensed into a vague humanoid figure that was half the height of Aryl herself.

Aryl then lightly tapped the brown book on her waist.

Almost instantly, the humanoid lump of ashes turned into... a little girl wearing a fancy black dress.

But it wasn't just any girls. Black hair, blood-red eyes, with an innocent face. I could immediately recognize her as Lucy Fertilus, 14th child of duke Alucard Fertilus.

"Amazing, isn't it? Now neither of us will have to do embarrassing things", Aryl suddenly spoke up, snapping me out of my thoughts.

I, however, was looking at her with confusion. "A- Are you sure you want to do this? I- I mean using such an important political figure like lady Lucy do to such things is..."

"Oh?", she looked at me with intrigue. "You know about her?"

"Of course! I read many books in my free time"

Aryl then spoke as she patted Lucy's, no, the lump of Ashes' head. "You don't have to worry, Celi. The average commoner doesn't even know the face of their own princess, let alone the 14th child of a duke that lives on the other side of the Empire"

I could only bitterly nod my head and accept her words.

Grinning yet again, Aryl stood up, faced the town's forces, and shouted on the top of her lungs.

"ATTENTION!"

Everyone turned their full attention towards her.

"I DON'T KNOW HOW TO MAKE A MOTIVATING SPEECH, SO I'LL LET MY FRIEND HERE HANDLE IT!"

Immediately after finishing her sentence, Aryl stepped back, making room for the lump of Ashes.

With its child-like body and beautiful face now visible to everyone below, the lump shouted. 

"IF WE SUCCEED, I'LL GIVE EVERYONE HERE A KISS!"

Unlike how we had expected, however, everyone was still quiet.

Peeking down below and seeing the unease in the men's eyes, Aryl started to panic.

"Wh- What!? What went wrong?"

She then calmed down as she remembered something. "Ah, I can't believe I forgot about this!"

Almost immediately after, the lump shouted yet again. 

"I'M 18 BY THE WAY!"

""OUWAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!""

An instant reaction! Every men down below cheered and whistled loudly, making the previously depressed mood look like it never existed at all! 

While I was glad that everyone's morale was raised, Aryl plopped down with her back against the wall, weariness apparent in those molten-red eyes of hers. She then muttered in absolute disappointment.

"Fucking pedophiles..."
...

After a few more hours, I could finally see viscount Uqas' army approaching us from the distance. 

The army was about 2,000 men big, with several siege weapons and catapults dotted amidst the rows of soldiers and knights.

Gulping a mouthful of saliva in nervousness, I glanced towards Aryl to check her expression, only to see her having an unusually cold glint in her eyes.

It was then that Aryl turned towards Jakes, the town guard who was standing right beside us.

"Jake, are you sure that the town's willing to fight the viscount to protect me?"

"Yes, we're sure!", Jake spoke with quivering eyes.

Even I could tell that despite his fears, Jakes was willing to fight for Aryl.

As if coming to a similar conclusion as mine, Aryl patted Jake's shoulders reassuringly.

"Then don't worry too much. You just need to defend the town's walls until the commander and vice-commanders come close enough"

"What will we do when they come close then?", I asked Aryl.

"Not we. You don't need to do anything at all"

I looked at her confusedly.

<[Alternate storage]>

Smiling, Aryl took out a peculiar-looking gun from thin air.

"Instead, I will [Railgun] their vice-commanders to death!"

 

**A/N: The peculiar-looking gun that totally-not-Theodore pulled out

**