## Chapter 971 – Sea

Once we go, we’ll survey the assembly, and if the paladin deems there’s enough suspicion, we’ll discreetly arrest them. Of course, if they resist arrest, a skirmish will ensue.

Then, we’ll switch to abduction.

I’ve stationed a paladin and other priests nearby. Two priests will park the four-wheeled carriage at the designated point and wait.

As soon as we arrest them, we’ll move them here and quickly transport them to the prison.

Entering will be me and two paladins.
I’ve already brought out the goddess statue I made myself.

That should be enough.

“Once inside, the nuns there will likely give you a kiss as a sign of welcome. My senses tell me there’s some kind of magical trickery involved. So, don’t be surprised and remain calm.”
“Hmm… a kiss from a nun suspected of being a heretic… it feels like it will bring bad luck.”

Paladin Milden expressed his displeasure.

“We have no choice if we want to expose their heresy, Milden.”
“I know, Lord Miles.”

Soon, we were approaching the assembly venue. A line had already formed. As always, it was overflowing with sailors.

“After getting in line, let’s keep conversation to a minimum. Please be cautious at the assembly site.”
“Understood, Paladin.”

We naturally joined the back of the line and waited for our turn to enter, keeping our mouths shut. Gradually, we moved inside.

“Welcome.”
“Welcome.”

The mermaid nuns began to give kisses, and I was extremely worried that the paladins would explode here. They might suddenly scream and tear the nuns in half.

“…”

Fortunately, no such unfortunate event occurred.

“Come this way.”
“…”
“…”

They just looked extremely displeased. It was obvious they were in a very bad mood as they came and stood next to me.

“Haa… it’s unpleasant indeed. Just seeing this kind of assembly take place… I’m growing more and more suspicious.”
“Is that so? Soon, that suspicion will turn into certainty. Just wait and see.”

I waited for the assembly with the two paladins. Not long after, the assembly began, and as if it were the most natural thing in the world, a hymn echoed.

ㅡOoo, ooooo… Ooo, ooooooooo…

A strange, echoing deep-sea hymn.

“…!”
“…!”

The two paladins tensed up, their eyes wide. I immediately patted Miles on the back next to me and whispered in his ear.

“Calm down. Don’t say anything.”
“…!”

ㅡOoo, ooooo… Ooo, ooooooooo…

The hymn echoed for a while. The paladins lowered their heads, trembling, unsure of what to do. Their fit of convulsions stopped only after the hymn ended.

“Haa…!”

The paladins seemed very agitated.

“Now, let us pray to the Mother Sea Goddess.”

The hymn ended, and after that, a normal assembly began.

They prayed for safety at sea, discussed how to maintain protection, and shared real-life examples as if spreading good words.

And they presented a vision of the bountiful sea we would one day reach. With this, sailors would have no need to fear the sea at all. After all, we would eventually go to the most peaceful sea and be embraced by the Mother Goddess, so why be afraid?

Of course, even if you believe in heaven, you still don’t want to die right away. There are very few people who completely abandon reality just because they believe they will go to heaven.

So, they pray for safety.

But well… I don’t know if humans can be embraced by that Shamaelreina. Isn’t this a religion for mermaids in the first place? I don’t think a being called a god would be bound by such a concept of race, but mythologically, this goddess was said to be the progenitor of mermaids. Of course, even that idea of being a progenitor isn’t certain.

Religion is truly difficult.

Anyway, the assembly ended a little over an hour later. We mingled with the sailors and went outside.

“That hymn… I can’t quite put my finger on it, but it felt very strange.”
“See? Doesn’t it seem suspicious at first glance?”
“Yes. It’s very suspicious. The content of the worship wasn’t particularly outstanding, but… that hymn is still very unsettling.”

Lord Miles was convinced.

“Let’s arrest them for now. We’ve been granted investigative authority, so even if they turn out to be innocent religious preachers, there shouldn’t be any problems.”
“Is it okay not to watch them enter the sea?”
“The Paladin has been continuously checking, so it should be fine.”
“Yes. Then, please hide with me for a moment.”

We lingered nearby until the sailors had dispersed somewhat, then stealthily headed towards the wall of the tavern building under the cover of darkness.

“I plan to monitor from the rooftop. Can you go up there right away?”
“It shouldn’t be too difficult.”
“Then.”

ㅡWhoosh!

I immediately kicked off the ground and soared upwards, using the vertical wall to propel myself to the rooftop. This kind of feat is extremely easy.

The paladins also jumped and naturally climbed up as if they were rock climbing, then went prone next to me.

“We’ll monitor from here, and as soon as they come out, we’ll abduct them.”
“Abduction… Still, let’s try to arrest them legitimately first. If they don’t comply with the arrest, it means they acknowledge the suspicion, so we can use force from then on.”
“Wow. That’s true.”

They’re rational as always.
It’s taking some getting used to.

I guess it’s because I’ve only acted with paladins when there was “something to fight.” Their rational, reasonable, and non-violent attitude was very refreshing.

How much time had passed?

“They’re coming out.”
“…Yes. I see them.”

Nuns with their heads and bodies covered in cloaks emerged, escorted by burly figures. I directed the pursuit.

ㅡWhoosh.

We crossed buildings, carrying out a breathtaking pursuit. I had already positioned priests along their route. The priests are weaker than the paladins, but they are still sufficient as a fighting force. We should be able to arrest them without anyone escaping.

ㅡWhen we arrived at a quiet place.

“Let’s go.”

ㅡWhoosh!

We descended to the ground and blocked the nuns’ path.

“Who are you!”

The burly figure shouted, pulling a large knife from his sleeve, skillfully shielding the nuns with his body and scanning the surroundings as if looking for an escape route.

“Calm down. We are paladins from the Brass Holy Church.”
“What…?”
“We received a report that an unorthodox assembly was being held, and we’ve come to investigate you under the lord’s orders. Here, a document proving our identities.”

I took out the document and showed it to them. Of course, it wouldn’t be easy to see in the dark.

“Comply with the arrest peacefully.”
“If you are innocent, you will be released.”

The paladins who had landed on the opposite side of me, behind the nuns’ group, said that. This was a one-way street. A passage located between buildings. They would have to choose one of us to break through, either me in front or the two paladins behind.

“…How can we trust that?”

The figure who seemed to be the leader growled, aiming the dagger at me. At first glance, he looked just like a human. More than anything, he seemed to be quite well-trained.

“Come and see. This document.”
“But, couldn’t it be forged?”

He’s cautious.

“You’re a suspicious fellow. Then, just accompany us instead of being arrested. This is already a big consideration. Your statement just now is defying the lord’s legitimate order. That alone further strengthens our right to arrest you.”
“…”

I babbled as I held out the document.

“I understand what you’re saying… but I still don’t trust you. Then why did you suddenly appear and try to attack us as if you were stalking us? If you came to enforce the law under the lord’s legitimate order, there would be no reason to do this. You’re acting suspiciously instead of coming out openly, so how am I supposed to know if you’re really paladins under the lord’s orders, or just thugs trying to kidnap us?”

This bastard… he’s making it hard to argue.
Why is this son of a bitch so good with words?

Even heretics are becoming intelligent in this world.

“Your tongue is getting long, heretic. Do you have something to hide?”

Since it’s come to this, I’ll just be brazen.

“Heretic? What nonsense. We are those who worship the Sea Goddess. Why are we heretics? If we’re heretics, then all the sailors who believe in the Sea Goddess are heretics?”

At that moment when he was playing dumb.

“Shut up! I clearly heard you chanting those impure hymns with my own ears! If you don’t comply with the arrest peacefully, we can only assume you’re trying to conceal your heretical activities!”

Paladin Milden, who was behind me, shouted, seemingly enraged.

“…Of course, we have no intention of concealing any suspicions. We just need proof that you’re really paladins.”
“Hey. The document is right here.”

I shook the document.

“With a document? Anyone can forge something like that. Even mere bandits and pirates forge official documents these days, so how can I trust you, who appeared so suspiciously?”

This bastard is a formidable opponent.

Normally, I would just subdue them right away, but I’m with the paladin, so…

“Alright. Then, let’s just accompany us to the City Guard office nearby. You can trust us if we go to a public institution, right?”

Miles proposed a compromise from the opposite side. As a rational person, he seemed to find the heretic’s argument quite reasonable.

“Well, I don’t know.”

But the burly figure shook his head even at that compromise.
Because that’s not what’s important in the first place.

“Then, Paladin!!!”

Miles shouted, and I immediately kicked off the ground. Yeah. There’s a limit to talking. If it doesn’t work, I’ll just enforce my will with force.

“…!”

The moment I kicked off the ground, the burly figures, as if they had received professional training, tried to help the nuns escape while blocking me. Without saying a word, swiftly.

But.

“Hah!”

The moment I kicked off the ground, it was over.

The distance between the burly figure and me was already zero, and faster than he could swing his dagger, I grabbed his neck and squeezed.

“Guhk!”

With that, the burly figure, whose blood flow to the brain was instantly cut off, fainted and slumped.

ㅡThud!

The paladins were already marking the burly figures one by one and engaging in combat, and the remaining two burly figures hugged the nuns around their waists and ran past me.

ㅡWhoosh!

I immediately chased after them. They wisely split up to the left and right as soon as they escaped the alley, but that’s not enough to shake me off.

ㅡBang!

I caught up with the burly figure who had fled to the left and struck his shoulder hard with the palm of my hand.

“Kuhk!”
“Kyaaaaah!!”

Unable to withstand the impact, he crashed to the ground. After grabbing the necks of the screaming men and women and knocking them unconscious, I kicked off the ground strongly and chased after the ones who had jumped to the opposite side.

“Stop, you bastards!!”
“Uwaaaah!!”
“Kyaaaaah!!”

Here were the burly figure and two nuns.
They were also subdued very easily.

Just knock them down with one hit and knock them unconscious one by one, and it’s over.

“…”
“…”
“…”

I looked down at the heretics sprawled at my feet.

“Shit.”

Talking was a waste of time after all.
If I’ve decided to arrest them, it’s best to do it quickly.

I immediately picked up the unconscious people and headed to where the paladins were. Of course, the situation was over there as well. The two paladins had subdued the two burly figures.

“Paladin! What about the ones who escaped!!”
“I caught them all and knocked them unconscious. We’ll have to do the same to these guys.”
“Let go of me!!”

I grabbed the necks of the guys who were struggling under the paladin’s knees and knocked them unconscious. After that, I gathered all the other unconscious people and brought them here.

The number was eight.

Three nuns and five burly escorts were all sprawled out, unconscious.

“Now, let’s check for suicide methods. Paladin Milden! Conduct a search of their belongings and mouths!”
“Understood!”

Suicide methods?
I tilted my head, and he said.

“Checking for suicide methods is very important. First, we need to restrain their entire bodies and prevent them from swallowing any poison hidden in their mouths. Some heretical preachers even hide deadly poisons in their mouths.”

Oh.
I learned something good.

Yeah, we need to check for things like that.
Shall I help?

“The priests will be here soon with sacks and ropes… I think we should start with the mouth search.”
“Understood.”
“But I don’t know about mermaids.”

That’s true.