Chapter 319 The Factions of the Holy Land
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
A full day has passed since Sia’s “extracurricular” stunt, and today is my scheduled appointment with Espera.¹
Sia had tried to slip away unnoticed after the chaos, but Diana tracked her down the next day and gave her a legendary dressing-down. You might wonder why a guard who causes that much trouble isn’t kicked off the detail immediately. The simple truth is that a frontier settlement like ours is desperate for talent, and Sia’s skills are objectively the best defense we have against an assassin’s blade. So, as a compromise, Diana and Lewya are now taking turns “guarding the guard” during my night shifts.
It’s a little ridiculous that my bodyguard needs her own babysitter, but given that Sia veers toward the gutter the second you stop watching her, it was the only logical move. Honestly, we should have seen this coming the moment we let her watch over my bedroom.
As for Betty, the memories of her… “excited” state were still vivid. She spent most of the day curled in a ball of pure mortification. I was worried she might end up with a permanent complex about intimacy, but lately, I’ve caught her stealing glances at my lap or pressing her body against mine even more than usual. My fears were probably misplaced. I’ll just call it a win and move on.
Deciding I needed to start a secret fitness routine to keep up with them, I headed toward the reception room for my meeting with Espera.
”Neil… will I be okay?” Betty asked, her voice trembling.
She had let her ash-gray hair return to its natural color. Since the secret was out, there was no point in wearing the blonde disguise anymore. It was her way of showing she was done hiding.
”Don’t worry, it’ll be fine,” I said. “But… could you maybe give me an inch of space?”
I tried to be gentle, not wanting to sound cold, but she was practically glued to my arm. If I wasn’t imagining things, her lower abdomen was pressed right against my hand, and my middle finger had landed somewhere it definitely shouldn’t have. Wait, she isn’t going into heat right before a diplomatic summit, is she? I wondered.
A chilling voice cut through my panic from behind.
”It’s honestly irritating, watching you two flirt right in front of me,” Sia said.
”Betty is only like this because you lit the fuse, Sia,” Lewya snapped back.
”Me? Oh, come on… was it really me?” Sia asked.
”How is that even a question? It’s blindingly obvious,” Lewya replied.
The two of them continued bickering behind me. While Espera had only requested Neil and Betty, we decided it was best to have either Diana or Lewya present for any meeting with an outsider. We brought Sia along as a deterrent – just in case. Espera had already agreed to the arrangement, so I wasn’t expecting a scene.
”Betty, we’re at the door,” I said quietly. “It’ll be rude to Espera if we’re acting like this during a serious talk, right?”
”I… I understand,” Betty muttered, finally letting go of my arm.
We reached the room, and Lewya stepped forward to knock.
”Come in,” a voice called from inside.
”Lady Espera, Neil has arrived,” Lewya said.
”Please, enter.”
Lewya’s “professional mask” was starting to look natural on her. I watched her open the door and we stepped inside. Espera rose from her sofa to greet us.
”Thank you for coming,” Espera said.
”Of course. Thank you for making time for us on such short notice,” I replied.
Espera started to offer a formal greeting, but she stopped mid-sentence. Her eyes locked onto the person standing behind me. She was staring at Lewya.
”Neil, what is the meaning of this?” Espera asked.
”It means we’re done keeping secrets,” I answered.
Betty wasn’t the only one who had dropped her glamour. Lewya had dispelled her magic as well, leaving her long elven ears exposed. Since the truth about Betty was out, keeping Lewya’s identity hidden would just look like we were being difficult. I wanted to show her we were serious, so I decided to lay all our cards on the table.
”…I see,” Espera said after a long pause. “I understand your resolve. In that case, I shall be as honest with you as I possibly can.”
“As I possibly can” meant she still had her own secrets, but given her rank as an Inquisitor, that was likely the best deal I was going to get.
Betty and I sat on the sofa while Lewya and Sia took their positions behind us. The meeting began.
”You mentioned you had business to discuss in person,” I said. “What can I do for you today?”
”Yes. To be brief, there is one main topic,” Espera said.
She paused, turning her gaze toward Betty. Betty tensed up, her whole body turning rigid.
”But perhaps we should start with the person you’re all concerned about – this girl. It’s relevant to my business, after all,” Espera said.
”I’m listening,” I replied.
”Then, let me ask: Your name is ‘Bearty,’ isn’t it?” Espera asked.
”How do you know that?” Betty cried out.
It wasn’t just Betty; we were all stunned. She had only used her real name for a very short time. By the time Espera had even noticed her, we were already calling her “Betty.” We certainly hadn’t mentioned her name in front of the Inquisitor.
”It’s no exaggeration to say we know Lycus better than the Kingdom does,” Espera explained. “Lycus is a significant threat to the Holy Land², and you can’t defend against an enemy you don’t understand. We track their movements in detail. We knew a ‘malformed’ child named Bearty, missing her left arm, had vanished from their settlement.”
”So, when you saw me… you were suspicious at first, but then you just let it go?” Betty asked.
”We know how ‘malformed’ children are treated in Lycus,” Espera said. “I judged there was no chance you were an agent sent to assassinate a priest.”
So, because she wasn’t a threat, she was worth overlooking.
”Honestly, it’s a surprise to meet an Inquisitor with a brain,” Sia remarked.
”Sia, please,” I muttered.
”It’s true that such Inquisitors exist,” Espera³ said calmly. “But we aren’t all the monsters the rumors suggest. Bad impressions simply leave the deepest scars.”
”So the rumors spread, and everyone mistook the worst of you for the whole organization,” I said.
”It’s a tragedy for my order,” Espera replied. “But as long as we allow it to happen, we have no right to complain. It is our own cross to bear.”
”Does that mean you’re part of the ‘Moderate Faction,’ Espera?” I asked.
”You surprise me, Neil,” Espera said. “You’re familiar with our internal politics?”
”I’ve done my homework,” I answered.
It went back to when the King had visited incognito. I used to believe the rumors too. I thought the Holy Land was a rigid monolith. But the King’s words had shattered that idea. He told me a country isn’t a single person; it’s a swarm of millions of souls, a group with a fluid, changing will. He asked me if I could really hear the voices of those millions before I judged the whole nation.
After that, I researched the Holy Land myself. I realized that beneath the surface of their dogma, they were split into competing factions – some of which didn’t care about their own religion at all.
”The Inquisitors the world actually fears… those are the ‘Purists,’ right?” I asked.⁴
”Exactly,” Espera said.
”Neil, what kind of group is that?” Lewya asked.
”They’re the ones who treat outsiders⁵ like the ultimate enemy,” I explained. “The Holy Land’s original stance was about protecting human resources from being erased by Newcomers. Hate was just a tool to achieve that. But the Purists? They’ve made the ‘hate’ the entire point.”
”So they’re fools who hurt others because they’ve forgotten their own mission,” Lewya said.
”It’s more cynical than that,” I said. “They don’t actually hate outsiders. It’s the opposite. The Purists would be the most miserable people on earth if outsiders actually disappeared.”
”Because they’d lose their political platform?” Lewya asked.
”No. Their goal isn’t to get rid of people. It’s to get rich,” I replied.
Lewya looked completely confused. I had to break it down for her.
”The Holy Land doesn’t just reject the people; it rejects their goods and knowledge. The Purists label luxury items – spices, electronics, entertainment – as ‘devil’s traps’ meant to corrupt the faithful. They pass strict laws against them,” I said.
”Luxury goods? Wait… you mean smuggling?” Lewya asked.
”Correct,” I said. “Things you can buy for nothing elsewhere sell for ten or twenty times the price on the black market inside the Holy Land. If you’re the one running the border, you can make a fortune letting things through.”
”I can’t believe it,” Lewya said. “Why is this allowed to happen?”
Everyone turned to Espera.
”It is a shameful tale,” Espera admitted. “In our land, the powerful are expected to give away their wealth to the poor. But often, once a man gains power, he stops wanting to sacrifice. He begins to hoard.”
”Power and money change people,” Sia added. “Especially priests. They spend their lives being told ‘luxury is the enemy,’ then they get a taste of power and there’s no one left to stop them.”
”But surely the Pope could order them to pay up?” Lewya asked.
”They would comply,” Espera said, “but it would trigger a revolt. Their actions are ‘unjust,’ but technically, they aren’t ‘illegal.’”
”So they pretend to be holy to stay rich,” Sia summarized. “And since they’re unjustly hoarding it, are you here to make them ‘unjustly’ cough it up?”
Espera went silent. I realized the truth then. The smuggling wasn’t just a secret; it was a feature. The Holy Land banned these goods so they could sell them to the corrupt rich, then use that money to keep the poor from starving. It was a vicious, functional cycle of sin and survival.
”The most important thing is to save those who seek salvation,” Espera said softly. “Our country is not in a position to be picky about our methods.”
Looking at her – an Inquisitor who truly cared about the people, who saw the exclusion of my kind as a necessary evil for her nation’s survival – I felt my guard finally begin to drop.
—
Summary:
Neil meets with Inquisitor Espera to discuss Betty’s (Bearty’s) past. The group decides to stop hiding their true forms, leading to Lewya revealing her elven nature. The conversation shifts to the internal politics of the Holy Land, specifically the corrupt ‘Purist’ faction.
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Trivia:
- The Holy Land actually knows more about Lycus than the Kingdom does.
- The term ‘Purists’ (Ihou-ha) is an ironic pun regarding ‘foreign’ vs ‘illegal’.
- The Holy Land’s survival currently depends on a secret cycle of smuggling contraband to fund the poor.
- Betty’s real name is Bearty, and she was a ‘malformed’ outcast in Lycus.
- Neil’s secret fitness training is prompted by the girls’ high s*xual energy
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Character Insight:
Neil’s perspective shifts from viewing nations as monoliths to understanding them as complex, often hypocritical groups of individuals. Espera shows a pragmatic, slightly tragic commitment to her people’s survival over pure religious dogma.
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Behind the Scenes:
The author notes that this chapter flows from a desire to expand on the world-building and political nuance often skipped in basic isekai tropes.
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TL Notes:
Notes:
• Espera – An Inquisitor (middle clergy rank) of the Pentis faith from the Theocracy, serving as the official point of contact. She is characterized by her crisp tone and brutal honesty, defending the necessity of charging high fees (‘fair compensation’) to maintain their resources and aid the suffering. She possesses a cool, assessing gaze and is highly perceptive, noticing Bearty and closely examining her distinctive features before choosing to leave without incident.
• Sia – A guard with unparalleled mana-sensing abilities. She wears a sheer negligee and displays exhibitionist tendencies. She is obsessed with Neil and enjoys the risk of being caught during intimate acts.
• Betty – A member of the Lycus tribe born with a disability (missing left arm). Described as a ‘malformed child’ by her society. She is currently ignorant of sexual education due to her tribe’s eugenics-based exclusion.
• Bearty – Gray-haired Lycus girl from a remote settlement, ran away from overprotective family, appears after collapsing from exhaustion, becomes the girl Neil protects and mentors.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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