Chapter 96

It's late!

I split it into two parts because it got too long!

The next part is the final one!

Miko, standing atop a wooden stage that is more than twice her height in the central square of the capital, Agaram, began reciting the prayer. Every year, Miko welcomes the rising sun on October 31st as a goddess, and the people watch in white attire. As soon as the long prayer ends, a festive commotion begins.

However, this year's Divine Descent Festival was enveloped in an unusual and chaotic noise unlike any other year.

"Let the Caritade religion perish!"

"The Miko is a messenger of the devil!"

Amid the flying screams and shouts, people opposing the Caritade religion rushed the stage in a mob. They wore red handkerchiefs around their chests, their faces covered with wooden masks, and each carried weapons like shovels and hoes. A black mist-like substance seemed to emanate from their bodies. They were all possessed by the "Hindrance."

"What is going on here..."

Oscar, upon arriving at the venue, trembled at the scene before him. The rioters with shovels and hoes, the soldiers sent by the church who were crouching, the gendarmes who were desperately swinging their swords despite being outnumbered, his classmates who turned their backs to the stage to protect Lean, the onlookers watching, and the people fleeing in panic. The scene was far from the usual "Divine Descent Festival," leaving everyone speechless.

"Oscar! Gil!"

Turning in the direction of the voice, he saw Jade waving. As they hurried over, Jade and Modred, looking exhausted, greeted them.

"Finally, you're here..."

"What is happening here?"

With a stern face, Gilbert asked, and Jade, on the verge of tears, explained.

"While Lean was reciting the prayer, the anti-Caritade people banded together and attacked. Moreover, they were all possessed by the 'Hindrance'! The gendarmes came, but there were too few of them..."

"Fortunately, we managed to hold on, but it would have been dangerous without Dante and Hugh."

It seemed that the two, who were better suited for support roles, had a tough time. Their entire bodies were drenched in fatigue. Just then, a person slid in on their back. The red handkerchief on his chest indicated he was one of the anti-Caritade people. His mask had been ripped off, revealing the characteristic marks of the 'Hindrance' on his face. Stepping on him and touching the marks was—

"Dante!"

"Ah, Oscar, you finally made it! Thanks a lot!"

It was his close friend, who laughed lightly. There was a bit of blood on his cheek.

"...You're late."

Next to appear was Hugh, who held a person possessed by the 'Hindrance,' groaning. It seemed the person's joints had been dislocated. Despite the groaning, the person couldn't move. Like the man earlier, he had marks on his face. It appeared the marks were under the mask. Hugh threw the man towards Jade.

"Jade, I leave it to you."

"O-Okay!"

Jade touched the marks. The man stopped groaning, and as the marks disappeared, he lost consciousness. Modred immediately treated him. Hugh, not a knight, had been handling the 'Hindrance' in this manner. Seeing their struggles, Oscar approached Dante, who was shaking his head.

"I'm sorry for leaving it to you."

"Really. They don't lose consciousness, so it's quite a hassle to deal with them without killing them!"

"Sorry."

"Hmm. So, how did your search go? Cecil disappeared again, right?"

Modred must have told him, as Dante peered behind Oscar. Oscar, with a regretful look, whispered, "I couldn't find her."

Dante was silent for a moment, then smiled faintly and patted Oscar's shoulder encouragingly.

"Well, let's finish this quickly and search for her together. ...Is that okay with Gil?"

Dante, still holding Oscar's shoulder, turned to Gilbert behind him. Gilbert, prompted by Dante's gaze, nodded heavily.

"I don't mind. We've already searched most of the places we can with this number. If we can't find her, we need to think of another plan or increase the number of people. I don't think we can spare people to search while in this state. The best way to find Cecil quickly is to break the situation."

"Wow, I thought you'd be running around like a kid, but you're surprisingly calm."

Oscar scolded Dante with a "Hey!" Gilbert also seemed offended, and his presence grew more intense.

"Do I look that way?"

"Don't be mad. I'm praising you for handling it well."

Dante turned his back to them and started stretching as if warming up.

"So, what do we do? Even with Oscar and the others here, we're still outnumbered. If it turns into a war of attrition, we'll definitely lose. We can't fully use our abilities in this public setting, and I don't want to play a game of tag with this many people, even if we try to escape with Lean."

"Then, let's increase our numbers."

Gilbert responded to Dante's challenging words. Dante, turning back, tilted his head and asked, "How?"

"We'll burn some hay borrowed from a nearby stable in the center of the square. Even if the noise doesn't reach far, the smoke will be visible. Since there are many wooden buildings around here, the gendarmes will come if they think there's a fire."

"But I don't think the people who gather thinking it's a fire will understand the situation and act accordingly."

"That's where the prince comes in, right?"

Oscar, pointed at by the gathered gazes, asked, "Me?"

"Unlike some nobles, the crown prince can command the gendarmes directly. Moreover, no matter who comes, there won't be any confusion in the command structure."

"That's true, but what will you have the gathered people do? They can't exorcise the 'Hindrance.'"

Oscar's words made Dante stroke his chin thoughtfully.

"According to the standard method, we could ask the gendarmes to arrest them and exorcise the 'Hindrance' later..."

"To capture one person unharmed, you need three soldiers. Moreover, they might be attacked by others while holding them. To ensure the soldiers' safety, we'd need four times the number of people to be captured."

"Finding that many people won't be easy..."

Just as Gilbert spoke sternly, Oscar's sleeve was tugged. Turning, he saw Jade and Ein with desperate expressions.

"If that's the case, can we use this!?"

Jade pointed to a net made of ropes.

"Could we use this to capture them all at once and then tie them up one by one? That way, we wouldn't need as many people."

"Where did you find this?"

Oscar, approaching the net, asked in surprise. Jade directed his gaze to a certain general store.

"That general store. They sold crafts made of deer leather, so I thought maybe... I peeked into the shed and found this among the hunting tools. Ein helped me bring it here."

It seemed they had just arrived when the three voices were heard. Dante patted Jade's back vigorously.

"Great job, Jade! Well done!"

"Ow!"

Jade's back straightened with a painful sound, and he teared up, saying, "Dante, that hurts!"

"More importantly, can we use it?"

"Yeah."

Oscar spread the net on the ground. It was large enough to capture large animals, so it should be sufficient for humans. However—

"There aren't enough of them."

"How many more do we need?"

Oscar, looking at Gilbert, who had come to see, spoke in a low voice.

"Roughly, ten to fifteen. Twenty would be a safe number..."

But it was unlikely they would find more nets so conveniently.

Just as they all wore bitter expressions, Ein's quiet voice reached their ears.

"Would it be the same if we had more of these?"

"Do you know where to get them?"

Oscar, still on his knees, looked up. Ein shook his head and touched his bracelet.

"I'll make more."

Thank you for reading, and I hope you enjoy the book and the manga adaptation.

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