“Don't come back.”

Gaf delivered those cold words and walked away. His manner was unlike his usual self—far too curt.

Shaperia hung her head.

'It must be because he found out who I am.'

She was a spy for the Church. She had infiltrated the lord's castle, deceiving everyone there. Anyone would be angry upon learning the truth. Even the good-natured Yohan had probably trembled with a sense of betrayal.

Shaperia let out a long sigh. She had made people who had shown her kindness feel betrayed. She had only been fulfilling her duty, but that did nothing to ease her guilt. She felt sorry toward Yohan and everyone else in the castle.

As her shoulders slumped, a boy gently took her hand.

“You're a good person, holy knight.”

The boy's name was Raon. He was the grandson of the Village Chief of the slash-and-burn farming settlement, and the child Zal’karin had once possessed. Yohan had saved him from being taken away by the Church because of that possession.

Shaperia looked at Raon.

“I'm neither a holy knight nor a good person.”

She was an apprentice holy knight. In truth, she had lost even that status. With her holy energy gone, she was now no more than an ordinary sacred soldier.

Raon shook his head.

“The scriptures say a holy knight is someone who protects others. You protected us all the way here. That means you really are a holy knight. And a good person, too.”

The Miyatro demesne lay hundreds of kilometers from the southwest. Over such a long distance, countless dangers lurked along the road. Petty spirits had appeared several times, and bands of thieves had blocked their path. Each time, Shaperia had dealt with them.

Without her, the farmers would never have reached the Miyatro domain safely.

Shaperia gently stroked Raon's hair.

“Thank you. That makes me feel a little better.”

Raon beamed at her. Looking at his smile, Shaperia could no longer bear to do nothing. She had to make sure that at least the farmers could meet Yohan. They had come so far; she couldn't simply send them back.

She immediately lifted her head, her gaze following Gaf as he walked away.

“Wait! Please wait a moment!”

She broke into a run and soon caught up with him. Gaf turned to look at her, his expression still rigid.

“What is it? I'm busy.”

“Please hear me out. It'll only take a moment.”

Gaf furrowed his brow.

“If this is about your spying, don't bother making excuses. I already know the whole story.”

On Yohan's orders, Gaf had kept a close watch on Shaperia. He had overheard her entire conversation with the Inquisitor.

Shaperia spoke.

“It's something else. Did you see the settlers earlier?”

A little over forty people had been with Shaperia a short while ago. Gaf had, of course, noticed them.

“Yes. What about them?”

“Never mind me, but please let them meet Sir Yohan... no, the Baron. He agreed to accept them as his subjects. He gave them his word.”

Gaf grimaced slightly.

“The Baron has no time to concern himself with such trivial matters.”

Shaperia's voice filled with indignation.

“Trivial? They walked for days on end to get here from the southwestern quarantine zone, trusting nothing but the Baron's word. Their survival is at stake. Please don't dismiss it as trivial.”

Gaf let out a long sigh.

“Do you have any idea how many slash-and-burn farmers and vagrants turn up here every day? Taking them all in would bankrupt the domain.”

Since Yohan's arrival, the Miyatro domain's reputation had steadily improved. The baronial house hadn't even collected taxes from its people this year. Hearing those rumors, people had been flocking to the domain. Yohan could hardly take in every one of them.

Shaperia felt frustrated.

“The people who came with me aren't just any farmers. They saved the Baron's life.”

“Now you're saying they saved his life?”

“Yes, they did. They cared for him after finding him collapsed by the river, and in return, he gave them permission to settle here.”

Gaf considered this for a moment. He thought he might have heard something similar from Yohan. His tone remained stiff.

“I'll check with the Baron. But be warned: if you're lying again, I'll lodge a formal complaint with the Church.”

Shaperia was a Church spy. There was a chance that the people she had brought also belonged to the Church. As captain of the guard, Gaf had to screen them carefully.

Shaperia's expression softened.

“I apologize for what happened before. Please convey my apologies to the Baron as well.”

Gaf turned back toward the lord's castle.

“There's no need to apologize. You were acting on the Church's orders, after all. Wait in the village for now. I'll go see the Baron.”

He strode away. As soon as he entered the castle, the gates shut firmly behind him once more. Soldiers kept the closed gates under tight guard.

Shaperia was puzzled. Had the baronial house always been so closed off? So much had changed in the castle over the past two months.

She gazed quietly at the castle. There was no denying it: the atmosphere was very different from before.

* * *

Yohan sat in his study, staring blankly into space. His eyes settled on the ceiling, scorched black, gouged in places and cracked all over. Bits of debris occasionally fell on his head.

It was all damage from the battle. Ilea and Gawain had thoroughly wrecked the castle.

It was quite a headache. He had confidently told Ilea not to worry, but in truth, he had no idea how to go about repairing the place.

'... Should I abandon it and build a new one?'

That might be the right choice. Bringing in workers to repair this castle risked exposing the forbidden library's location to the world.

'Let's build one. That's the right choice.'

He would leave this place as the (old) castle and build a new one.

Stifling a groan, Yohan began writing a letter. He intended to lean on the Count's wealth a little. The man probably wouldn't be able to refuse his request.

After writing for some time, Yohan abruptly snapped his pen. He suddenly clutched his head.

'You idiot. The castle isn't the urgent problem right now.'

The biggest problem was Gawain. No matter how hard he thought, he couldn't come up with a way to deal with him. He had probably turned his attention to rebuilding the castle out of a desire to avoid the issue. It was giving him such a headache that he wanted to run away from it.

'Stop avoiding it. I need to halt Gawain's encroachment first.'

No solution had appeared in the original novel, either. Yohan would have to find one himself.

He slowly took stock of the situation. Gawain's encroachment was the backlash from corrupting the holy spear into a fell spear. What if he reversed that process, purifying the fell spear back into a holy spear?

Yohan shook his head. There was no way to purify a corrupted accursed object. Those were the rules of Chronicle of Humans and Demons.

He clutched his head again, sinking into thought. He agonized over it for a long time.

How much time had passed? Someone entered the study, pulling Yohan out of his thoughts.

“Without even knocking...”

“Knock on what? There's no door.”

Gaf stood leaning against the doorframe, looking at Yohan. As he had pointed out, the door had been blown off.

Yohan clicked his tongue.

“The place is a ruin. So, what is it?”

Gaf answered matter-of-factly.

“Shaperia is here.”

“She took longer than I expected.”

Gaf was a little puzzled.

“You knew she'd come back?”

All investigations into the baronial house had ended by royal decree. Naturally, Shaperia's mission to monitor the house had ended as well. As far as Gaf could see, she no longer had any reason to visit the domain.

Yohan nodded.

“I promised to open the gate to the Abyss for her. She believes visiting the holy site that lies dormant there will restore her lost holy energy.”

It was nothing but superstition. There was virtually no way to recover lost holy energy.

Gaf spoke.

“Then are you going to meet her?”

Yohan considered it for a moment. He had allowed Shaperia to stay so he could turn the tables and monitor the Church's movements. That reason no longer existed. Keeping her around offered no benefit at all.

He spoke.

“Send her away. Even meeting her would be a waste of time.”

“What about the slash-and-burn farmers from the southwest?”

Yohan seemed not to know what he meant. Gaf gave him a brief explanation, and only then did Yohan remember.

He said, “Give them land and houses. I owe them my life. I should repay that debt.”

Gaf nodded.

“I'll send Shaperia away and take the farmers in. Is that all?”

Yohan opened his mouth, then closed it again.

'Wait a moment.'

An idea suddenly occurred to him.

'If I made use of Shaperia...'

She and Gawain had quite a few things in common. For one, their talents were similar. Both were favored children of the Great Saint. He might be able to use Shaperia to purify Gawain.

Yohan rose from his seat.

“I've changed my mind. I need to see Shaperia. Right now.”

Gaf was used to Yohan's sudden changes by now.

“You're up to something again.”

“Just lead the way. I'll explain later.”

Without another word, Gaf gestured for him to follow. The two headed straight down to the village.

* * *

Shaperia waited for Gaf in the village hall, drinking the tea the Village Chief had given her. A few villagers had come to the hall to get a look at her.

Word had already spread that she was a holy knight. Holy knights were a rare sight in this southern backwater. Naturally, the villagers were curious.

'They all look so cheerful.'

Every villager who came had a radiant face. It was quite a change from two months ago.

'Just changing the lord can make such a difference.'

As she was marveling at this, a commotion broke out at the entrance to the hall.

“My lord, it's been so long!”

“Have you been well?”

“Please come visit the village now and then!”

“We've just had a calf born. I'd like to offer it to you, my lord!”

Amid their warm welcome, Yohan entered the village hall. Shaperia rose and straightened her clothes. Somehow, she felt she ought to show proper courtesy.

Their eyes met, and she bowed her head.

“Sir Yohan... no. Greetings, my lord.”

Yohan approached her with an expressionless face. Shaperia grew a little nervous. There was something somber about his manner.

He spoke calmly.

“Dame Shaperia. It's been a while.”

Shaperia's expression grew solemn.

“Thank you for agreeing to see me. For everything I've done... I sincerely apologize.”

Yohan chuckled, instantly easing the tense atmosphere. He gave her shoulder a light pat.

“If you're sorry, would you do me one favor?”