TLWCL 36🔐

Chapter 36 ...

People sprang from their chairs and fled in panic.

“An Inquisitor!”

“Why would an Inquisitor be here…?!”

Terrified, the patrons rushed out of the restaurant. An inquisition was bad news even for ordinary civilians.
If you offended them or got on their bad side, you could be arrested on the spot, tortured, and executed.

Antonio stood up with a tense expression.

“Ascetic.”

“I know.”

Well, whatever. That Inquisitor is obviously here for me anyway…

“Ah, should we order one more item from the menu?”

“Ascetic…! This isn’t the time for that—you need to hide—”

BANG!

The wooden door of the private room burst open as if it were smashed apart. Damn. That looked like an expensive door. Well, I’m sure they can pay for it.

“Cernuan Lumière—”

“I abandoned that name quite a while ago, yet people still insist on calling me by it.”

Without even turning around, I cut off the Inquisitor mid-sentence and took another bite of my steak.

Just as Antonio had claimed, this place really was a hidden gem. The steak was excellent.

Beside me, I could feel Calebrín drawing up a sticky, ominous aura.

She kept chewing her steak enthusiastically while finishing her casting. Beneath the tablecloth, a dark crimson spell shimmered faintly.

“Hm… so you are the Ascetic?”

“Yes. It seems you were looking for me.”

Tap. Tap. Tap.

Footsteps approached from behind.

Antonio was frozen halfway to standing, while Calebrín—despite her appearance—was ready to unleash a chilling spell at any moment. Truly a dependable main damage dealer.

In this hair-trigger situation, I alone continued eating leisurely.

It was a four-seater table, with one chair still empty. A gloved hand suddenly grabbed the back of that chair.

“I’ll have the same thing. You’ll treat me, right?”

I politely set down my fork. When I turned my head slowly, I saw the Inquisitor grinning cheerfully.

“We’re going to be seeing each other quite often from now on.”

Who is she?
Red hair tied in a ponytail, green eyes. Light equipment for an Inquisitor—she looked more like a hunter.

If she weren’t wearing the Central Church’s insignia necklace, I might’ve mistaken her for someone on the cleric career path.

She didn’t seem like a major character. I remembered that archmage from before more clearly than her.

“Sharing a plate of meat with a neighbor is no trouble at all.”

It wasn’t even my money—it was Antonio’s. There’s nothing more satisfying than showing off with someone else’s wallet.

“Waaah~! Awesome! Then I’ll gratefully accept your generosity!”

The subtle tension in the air was irritating. She looked lively and a bit scatterbrained, but her presence was sharp.

I wasn’t a warrior who could sense killing intent, but judging from her well-maintained equipment and attire, she was the real deal.

She might even be stronger than a knight commander. From what I could see, she seemed to be a close-combat type—but aside from a few daggers, her main weapon was nowhere in sight.

Oh well. I’m not the one fighting anyway.
And fights only happen when both sides can actually fight.

Someone like her could slit my throat without effort.

“A-Ascetic…”

“Antonio, let’s continue eating.”

As Antonio trembled and tried to lift his fork, she rustled behind her waist and pulled out a scroll stamped with the imperial seal.

“Oh, right. One moment.”

She unrolled the scroll and squinted at the text as she read.

“Ahem. Cernuan Lumière, hear this—ugh, why is this so long? I’ll skip the boring parts and get to the point, okay?”

…What is this?

Everyone at the table stared at her in disbelief, but she continued reading without a care.

“By the benevolence of the Empire and in recognition of your contributions to Astrapolis, the bounty on your head is hereby officially revoked. And—oh! Thank you.”

She diligently read through the imperial document. In the meantime, the appetizer for the dish she’d ordered was served and set before her. For an Inquisitor, she was surprisingly polite.

“However, should heretical activities be discovered again, you will be subject to immediate execution by the dispatched overseer, Inquisitor Yelena—ah, that’s me.”

Even after hearing her name, nothing came to mind.

Either she wasn’t a main character, or she simply hadn’t been recorded—like that knight commander before.

Immediate execution upon detecting heresy basically meant they’d kill me whenever they felt like it. No need to read further. Just as expected, I was now living on borrowed time.

“Cernuan Lumière is invited to the ‘Banquet Hall.’ Failure to attend will result in immediate execution. That concludes the notice~ Oh! And it looks like surveillance will be indefinite for now! Please cooperate until the order is lifted!”

An overseer.

And an invitation to the Banquet Hall, no less…

“I look forward to working with you as well, Sister Yelena.”

Not bad. There wasn’t much detailed information about the Banquet Hall, but in the game’s story, it was said to be the decision-making body directly beneath the Emperor.

Since the main playable character was a monster-slaying hero type, there was never much reason for the story to intertwine deeply with the Banquet Hall.

“Just call me Yelena~ ‘Sister’ feels awkward.”

“Understood, Yelena. Let’s get along.”

“Yes!”

We shook hands briefly.

When people who hide hundreds of snakes inside them converse while masking their true intentions, sparks seem to fly from their eyes.

Soon, the food arrived. Steam rose from the small steak as Yelena beamed and gripped her knife.

Clink. Clack.

Only the sound of cutlery filled the room. I maintained a relaxed smile, while Antonio had long since set his fork down.

Calebrín had already dismissed her spell and stared irritably at her empty plate, apparently frustrated by the slow, course-based meal.

“Then when should we depart for the Banquet Hall?”

“Mmm… umm. Samilthdee.”

Chomp chomp chomp. She spoke while chewing. Judging by the sound, it was probably three days later.

“I understand. I’ll make the necessary preparations.”

“Mmm, yesh.”

When we left the restaurant, it was nearly empty. Yelena scratched her head awkwardly and greeted us.

“Ahaha, it really was a famous place—super tasty~”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“So, where to now?”

“I was planning to stay the night at Antonio’s house… would that be alright?”

The unspoken meaning was: Is it okay to bring an Inquisitor into your home?

“Ah, of course. You’re welcome anytime.”

= I won’t get in trouble! It’s fine!

I nodded. Night had already fallen.

Sleeping under the same roof as someone who could slit my throat at any moment…

“Well, I’ll live at least until the Banquet Hall. No need to worry until then.”

My top priority during these three days was finding the Saintess.

“With an overseer attached, it won’t be easy to talk with Antonio directly.”

I lay down on the soft bed. On the bed right beside mine, my potential executioner was already snoring softly. She’d fallen asleep in under ten seconds.

“She’s probably pretending.”

I opened the system window.

“If there’s surveillance, I’ll just communicate secretly.”

I had points to spare anyway…

“Purchase: Voice Transmission.”

[New Skill Acquired: Voice Transmission!]
[Points: 5]

[Voice Transmission Lv.1: You can now convey your thoughts to a target within 100 km. (Only usable on targets whose name and face you know. One-way communication only.)]

A one-way radio with a 100 km range. Since the radius and conditions would improve with leveling, I didn’t complain to the system.

I’d wanted to upgrade Weakness Detection, but with an overseer present, Voice Transmission was unavoidable.

[Search Target: ]

“First, I need to tell Antonio to hurry up and find the Saintess.”

[Search Target: Antonio Tradetor]
[Connect?]
[Connecting…]

“Why does the UI look like I’m making a phone call?”

[Connected!]
– Current thoughts will be transmitted to the target.

“Antonio, can you hear me? We need to find the Saintess. Blonde hair, golden eyes, commoner origin, beautiful appearance. Find her within three days.”

[Connection Terminated]

I had no idea what Antonio was saying on his end, but I assumed he understood.

“It’s nice to lie on a bed instead of a prison cell for once. Though I did spend a lot of time in hospital beds.”

I slowly drifted into sleep.

“Greetings, my lord. You summoned me?”

“I wished to introduce you to acquaintances suffering from incurable illnesses. Hmm… but who is that beside you?”

“She is Inquisitor Yelena. My lord, acting lord.”

Acting lord. Yelena was a watcher dispatched by both the Central Church and the Empire. Calling him ‘acting’ was a clear message: You’re temporary.

Despite having just risen from his sickbed, the young lord showed no change in expression.

“I see. Then I look forward to working with you, Ascetic. My father maintained relations with you, after all. And the healing center is being built swiftly—construction should finish within the month.”

He deliberately mentioned the healing center, likely because the Central Church had tried to interfere with its construction. The new lord wasn’t someone to take lightly either.

“Thank you.”

Yelena remained silent after that, standing still.

“Then go with this child.”

As if waiting for that cue, the child standing behind the lord stepped forward three paces and bowed politely. Yelena smiled brightly and returned the greeting.

“I will guide you to Marquis Alderion.”

A very courteous guide.

“Safe travels. Take care.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The child assigned as our guide led us forward politely.

“Hello, Ascetic. And Inquisitor Yelena. My name is Thomson, and I’ll be guiding you to Marquis Alderion.”

“Nice to meet you, Thomson.”

“Nice to meet you~!”

“The Alderion Marquisate is about half a day by carriage. Is there anything you need to collect beforehand?”

“No.”

“Oh, I do. I left something at the temple. Could you wait just a moment? I’ll grab it quickly.”

“Very well. I’ll prepare the carriage in the meantime.”

“Then may I accompany you to the temple? There may be sick people—I’d like to check on them before we depart.”

“Hmm~ sure, why not.”

I followed behind Yelena. That excuse was only half the truth.

I was also curious whether she might retrieve something suspicious—and what her standing was among the Central Church.

The temple was close.

“Inquisitor Yelena?”

“Yes~ It’s Yelena! I came to retrieve the item I left here before my dispatch.”

“Oh, that item? Understood. I’ll bring it right away.”

The one who responded looked like an apprentice priest of the Central Church. He kept sneaking glances at me. Even though I was fully concealed under a hood and veil, he was clearly curious.

“Hm~ hmm~”

Yelena hummed lightly, swaying as she waited. Meanwhile, I went around treating the sick.

From what I could tell, she was treated fairly well—but mostly by lower-ranking members like apprentices. The higher-ups didn’t seem to like her much.

Because she’s a commoner? A woman? Those were the only guesses that came to mind.

“Thank you so much, Ascetic!”

“A true incarnation of the divine…”

While patients and their families were expressing their gratitude, the person Calebrín had once said she wanted to kill strode over aggressively.

“Who do you think you are, letting a heretic crawl in here?”

And then my collar was grabbed.

“Ah—my tattoo’s going to show.”

I was yanked downward due to the height difference.

“Hey, freeze right there~!”

Whooo—fwng—

Something broad sliced through the air.

THUD!

When I turned my head, Yelena was standing there, holding a halberd in one hand and smiling sweetly.

“That’s mine, you know?”

If you want, I can also:

• Polish it further into a published-quality translation

• Adjust tone (more comedic / darker / more novel-style)

• Keep names or terms consistent with earlier chapters

Just tell me 👍