Chapter 39 – Black Claw

She appeared after a light knock and delivered the news.

“Inquisitor. You have been summoned by the knighthood.”

“From the knighthood?”

When he thought about what reason they would have to call him,

something came to mind.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t received it yet.’

After the coronation of the new Saintess, there was something he had been promised by the commander.

Since magic armor was not something made overnight, it was somewhat late, but it seemed to have come out before it was too late.

‘I can guess the reason.’

“I will take care of that.”

Preparing to go out, Rashid asked Aria.

“What about the Chief Inquisitor?”

“He is currently away on a business trip. He did not say exactly when he would return, but it will probably take a few days. He went to a protectorate located on the frontier.”

If the Chief Inquisitor had let her go, she was now his.

“Did he assign you any separate work?”

“No, not yet.”

“Then I have something for you to do.”

“Is it related to my brother?”

Since Rashid had been focusing on matters related to Vane Sanctum until now, this was a natural response.

“I cannot say it is completely unrelated, but objectively speaking, it is a separate matter.”

“Don’t you think that is a vague way to put it, Inquisitor?”

“It is a separate matter. Is that clear enough?”

“If you say so.”

There was still no sign of the Sonata of World Demise being performed.

That was because her performance date at the large Basilica Choral Dome had not been set yet.

However, the date would eventually be set, and once it was, she, who resided in the Count’s autonomous territory, would surely come.

‘As if a dog could stop eating dung. Those two self-proclaimed artists will definitely cause trouble. At the very least, if I can get a pretext, it is better to deal with Gerard first.’

Count Gerard.

His martial prowess was by no means low, fitting for the closest associate of a villain.

From what Rashid remembered, his martial prowess was at the Master level.

In addition, he was equipped with a second-tier magic armor.

Since he was not a believer, he would be able to use magic quite freely.

In a way, he might be in a similar position to Aria Sanctum.

‘It would be most accurate to view him as being around that woman’s level.’

As Rashid’s strange gaze landed on her, Aria tilted her head.

“So, what is it that you want to say?”

“Keep a close eye out if an official request for cooperation regarding a gory case comes from the Capital Security Bureau. The types of cases you should focus on are things like making artworks out of corpses, or mass suicide incidents. If an official request for cooperation on such bizarre cases comes in, take it without fail. We will handle it.”

The number of cases for which the Capital Security Bureau requested cooperation was not small.

There were quite a few variety of cases, and the Heresy Inquisition Bureau, fitting its position, had the authority to cherry-pick from among them.

“May I ask the reason?”

“Do you ask the reason for a superior’s order? When you are ordered to do something, you just do it.”

“That is a military mindset. By the way, did you also serve in the military, Inquisitor?”

Though he had completed his full service in the army,

there was no need to answer.

* * *

He visited the knighthood.

The knight commander was not at the headquarters, and instead, Akard, the vice commander, welcomed him in his place.

“Inquisitor Rashid? Awkward. It feels like your title changes every day.”

Just a short while ago, he was an honorary cleric.

Now, he had become an inquisitor.

An inquisitor and a vice commander.

Practically, they were of equal standing, and their relationship was one where they only showed formal courtesy to each other.

“I heard the knighthood summoned me. But the commander is not here.”

Rashid looked at him.

He still had that annoyingly handsome face.

“The commander is busy, so I ended up delivering this in his stead.”

Akard led him to the magic armor mounted on one side of his office.

“It is a second-tier magic armor. Honestly, even for us knights, magic armor of second-tier or higher is hard to obtain. The insane price, enough to purchase several mansions in Basilica, is one problem, but the workshops do not hand over their masterpieces to just anyone either. And it is true that it is a burden in itself. Physically and mentally.”

In the knighthood, the only ones equipped with second-tier magic armor or higher would be Akard and the commander.

So, it could be said to be a quite meaningful gift.

“The commander also agonized over it quite a bit. There were various opinions. Since second-tier was a bit too much and third-tier lacked sincerity, there were many opinions suggesting it would be better to make it 2.5-tier. However, the commander insisted on preparing a second-tier one. It was partly because you were an honorary cleric, but also because you became an inquisitor, didn’t you?”

Originally, what the commander intended to prepare was a 2.5-tier magic armor.

Magic armor was extremely expensive, and he had judged that providing a second-tier magic armor was going too far.

However, as soon as he heard the news that he had become an inquisitor, he quickly upgraded the class to second-tier, and the result was what stood before him now.

“Just be grateful to the commander. He is a more loyal person than he looks. He definitely takes care of his own people.”

Its characteristic feature was the left hand, which was modified like a talon, and the black mana stone embedded on the back of that hand.

Considering that mana stones were usually located in the center of the chest of magic armor, it could be called a rather unique form.

“From the second-tier and above, magic armor is given a name. I heard it is called Black Claw (). It was crafted at the Celestial Pole Workshop located on the sky island. Do you know about the Celestial Pole Workshop?”

“It is a place famous for crafting magic armor. I have heard of it a few times.”

“They said the shape of the magic armor is somewhat unusual because it is fifth-generation. And it seems that from the fifth-generation onwards, they are driven only by specific mana stones. Since each mana stone has its own unique characteristics, they probably utilized those characteristics well.”

Rashid examined the mana stone embedded in Black Claw.

A black mana stone.

Only one thing came to mind.

‘It is Deep Jade.’

It was a mana stone known to the public as Abysstone, specialized in absorbing mana.

“Usually, when our knighthood places an order, it is crafted to match bloodstones. But they said this one specially used Deep Jade, perhaps because of the magic armor’s functions. From what I heard, it disassembles and analyzes the opponent’s magic formula, absorbing it as it is.”

Rashid laughed inwardly.

‘With this, I will be somewhat immune to Seraphine’s mind control. I was planning to break it with a Silent Barrier, but if it is a method of absorbing and removing it, that is not bad either. There are multiple ways to break it anyway.’

The gazes of both men turned toward the Absorption Core located on the left palm.

“We will only know the details once you use it. Oh, and.”

Akard handed over the Cross Sword that was on his office desk.

“I don’t know if this is of much significance, but it is a Cross Sword. It is the symbol of our knighthood.”

Rashid examined the Cross Sword.

Although it was inferior to Heimdall’s Magic Stone Sword, the Cross Sword had its own symbolism, and because it was a sword used by knights, its durability was exceptionally good.

The reason for its good durability was its simple design.

Perhaps, looking only at durability itself, it could be a better sword than the Magic Stone Sword.

“Aren’t we in the same family anyway? I should make sure to distinguish friend from foe clearly as well.”

“Thank you for saying so. Yes, just as the commander said, it won’t hurt for us to know an inquisitor.”

Since they possessed their own martial force,

the knighthood did not particularly care about inquisitors,

but since no one knew what the future held,

Akard could understand the commander’s reasoning a little.

“What is this?”

He thought he had received everything he was supposed to,

but this time Akard handed over a personal gift.

“This is my personal gift. Because when I asked you to protect the candidate back then, I was sincere.”

What he handed over was an artifact in the form of a bracelet.

“Even if you lifted the seal, unless you are from the outside, you would have many difficulties handling subdimensional storage. This is a device to compensate for that. It contains a basic armory, but if you want an expansion, you can visit a workshop affiliated with the Magic Tower. They will do the expansion there.”

“You didn’t have to do all this. Anyway, I will use it well. If there is something I can help with later, I will help you too.”

As he channeled mana into the mana stone embedded in the bracelet, a simple form of an armory popped out from a rift in space.

It seemed to function by storing magic armor and other weapons and pulling them out when needed.

‘It is a form where a magic formula is engraved into a mana stone. The design is simple, but the price is the problem.’

Rashid happened to spot an invitation sitting on his desk.

“By the way, what is this invitation for?”

“Ah, that. It was sent by the Director of Palace Affairs. A violinist named Seraphine Arpeggia. I heard she is a very famous violinist in Count Gerard’s territory. They say she manipulates sacred sound and plays heavenly harmony.”

Rashid casually read the invitation and asked indifferently.

The date of the concert was three weeks away.

“Are you planning to go?”

“I thought, ‘Why bother?’ but quite a few VIPs were invited under the leadership of the Director of Palace Affairs. The commander, myself, and so on. We are not on very good terms with the Director of Palace Affairs, but since they say it is a rare concert, it wouldn’t be bad to go.”

He wanted to stop him,

but he must not block the concert itself.

Because only when the concert took place would Vane Sanctum be backed into a corner.

‘I shouldn’t cause unnecessary interference when everyone is gathering.’

In any case, he would inform the commander and vice commander the day before the concert.

Not to attend.

* * *

“This is something I haven’t seen before.”

Her gaze was fixed on a certain magic armor delivered from the knighthood.

Just by looking at it, its appearance was unusual, indicating it was a second-tier magic armor.

“Is it yours, Inquisitor?”

Rashid replied indifferently.

“Yes. I received it as a gift this time.”

“Come to think of it, you didn’t have magic armor, Inquisitor.”

Was it because the color of the magic armor was dark?

She suddenly remembered the unidentified knight she had seen in Weiman.

The magic armor he wore harbored an impure energy, but it was definitely a first-tier magic armor.

“Did you say you lost the Sacred Blood Spear back then?”

“I told you. It was taken by a strange guy.”

As a deep anger filled Rashid’s gaze, she suddenly changed the subject.

“I came because of the task you assigned. The case you told me to grab without fail. I grabbed it.”

She laid down the official cooperation request delivered from the Capital Security Bureau and several photographs onto his desk.

“I don’t know why you are interested in such a matter, Inquisitor, but do you really intend to cooperate?”

“Why do you ask?”

“While this would count as an achievement, looking at the practical side of things, I am saying this because it doesn’t seem to be a very important matter for us.”

Her words made sense.

Rather than this kind of trivial work, it would be better, both in terms of time and practicality, to catch heretics or uncover the corruption of high-ranking clergymen.

Rashid put down his pen and asked, leaning back in his chair.

“I thought you would like it instead. Didn’t you come here to catch crazy killers like this? Didn’t you say you wanted to kill these bastards legally?”

“I believe you didn’t choose this task because of me. And my tendencies have absolutely nothing to do with your achievements, Inquisitor. I merely offered a small piece of advice as an attendant. Because that is what I ought to do.”

If she had not seen the big picture that would connect to this incident,

it was a natural reaction.

“What if your brother is at the end of this task?”

“No way. No matter how little I know about my brother, he doesn’t have such an elegant hobby. And the same goes for me.”

“I believe the culprit of this incident is Count Gerard.”

She held her tongue.

That was because she had recently heard stories related to the concert from her brother.

“And that Count Gerard recently met the Director of Palace Affairs. Ah, of course, I am not saying your brother is related to this case. I merely think the main culprit of this incident is Count Gerard, and I just want to judge him.”

“Then it is completely separate…”

“I told you. It is a completely separate incident. But in the grand scheme of things, it is connected.”

“My brother won’t take a hit just because of a connection to a count. There is nothing to be hit by anyway.”

“Then, it shouldn’t matter to you if you kill the count instead of me. Since you think it is so irrelevant.”

Count Gerard.

Since he was not a believer, it was difficult to execute immediate judgment even as a heresy inquisitor.

Even if he was the true culprit of the gory murder case, since he was a count of the empire, it would not be easy to hold him accountable.

‘If I kill him, it wouldn’t be impossible, but many annoying matters will follow.’

But what if there was someone who could do that task in his place?

‘An attendant, in the true sense, is not someone who gives useless advice by my side, but someone who takes risks in my stead.’

“Don’t tell me you are refusing this as well? Or is it burdensome because the opponent is a count? Or is it because it is related to your brother?”

A sort of ecstasy could be seen rising in her eyes.

“Why wouldn’t I be able to? It is rather exciting. To be able to kill someone who seemingly shouldn’t be killed, under the pretext of vaguely bringing up someone.”

She had no hesitation in killing someone.

And she did not care about who the opponent was.

Perhaps she was the best blade he could possess.

“But even if I kill him, you won’t be able to escape that responsibility either, Inquisitor. You are my superior, after all.”

Rashid did not deny it either.

However,

the point was that they could share that responsibility.

“We will bear it together instead. Along with our prestigious Sanctum family.”