A dark room where not a single point of light entered.
A man in priestly vestments swung a whip at a young girl’s back.
Each time the whip lashed down, flesh burst from the girl’s back, and vivid streams of blood soaked the floor.
Even as he watched it happen, the one wielding the whip did not waver.
This was the heart of the Order of the Six Great Gods.
And so anyone here could use healing magic.
At last, there was no unmarked place left on the girl’s back, and the priest stopped the whip.
Stepping close to the girl, he seized her by the hair and lifted her face.
“Theodora. Use healing magic.”
At those words, the girl could give no answer.
When the girl remained silent, the priest struck her cheek as if displeased.
With the clinking of swaying chains, the girl struggled to open her eyes.
“This is a warning, Theodora. Cast healing magic at once.”
At that, the girl recited an incantation in a trembling voice.
A pure white light caressed the girl’s back, and the wounds there slowly vanished.
“Too slow.”
The priest muttered coldly, frowning.
According to the “curriculum,” she should have been capable of instant recovery by now.
And yet what she had shown was nothing more than ordinary healing.
With narrowed, displeased eyes, the priest waited until the girl was fully healed, then raised the whip.
“We begin again.”
Bound in chains, young Theodora tried to look at the priest’s face.
All she could see was a blurred afterimage.
She could not tell who it was, but it did not matter.
No matter who the other person was, the education would continue.
And so Theodora received her education once more.
**
Miseri Dormitory, Theodora’s room.
Theodora sat up in bed, drenched in sweat.
‘This dream again.’
Pushing her sweat-soaked hair back, she looked out the window.
The sun was slowly rising at the far eastern edge of the sky.
It was still too early to begin the day.
Theodora did not lie back down, but headed straight for the bathroom.
She was a hero raised by the Order.
She could not allow anyone else to see her in such a broken state.
As she poured magically heated water over herself, Theodora recalled the dream she had just had.
The process by which she had been taught healing magic when she lived in the sanctuary of the Order of the Six Great Gods.
Back then, she had learned slowly, and had required much discipline.
Thanks to that, she could now regenerate most wounds at incredible speed, but the scars engraved upon her soul showed no sign of disappearing.
‘I have to forget.’
The Order had commanded it. Therefore, she had to obey.
Repeating that to herself, she stopped bathing and came out.
After quickly grooming herself with magic, the androgynous beauty she wore as always was reflected in the mirror.
She felt it every time she saw it, but this appearance did not feel like herself at all.
As she stared blankly into the mirror, someone’s voice came from behind her.
“You look as though you have quite a lot on your mind, Hero.”
When she turned her head, Ramsey was looking at Theodora with his usual smiling expression.
“Is something troubling you, Hero?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”
Before she knew it, Theodora had put on her doll-like smile and approached Ramsey.
“What brings you to me today?”
“Ah, it’s nothing so grand. An order came down from the Order, you see.”
“An order?”
When Theodora looked puzzled, Ramsey raised his index finger and placed it before his lips.
“The details are a secret. So let us speak somewhere a bit quieter.”
Without even waiting for Theodora’s reply, Ramsey began to walk away.
His attitude said that her will did not matter in the slightest.
It was also an attitude Theodora had seen throughout most of her life.
With reluctant steps, she followed Ramsey.
Before long, the two arrived at the lounge of Miseri Dormitory.
During the day, this place was filled with young nobles, but now it was utterly deserted.
The only thing filling the silent lounge was a man’s prayer.
“The fire of light burned the wicked, and only that which God deemed righteous remained in this world. Therefore, you too…”
Matthew, a priest of the Church of Light who had accompanied Ramsey on her dungeon exploration.
Unaware that anyone had arrived, he continued his prayer.
“It has been a while, Brother Matthew. Dawn prayers, is it? You remain diligent even at the academy.”
Just as Theodora recalled his name, Ramsey waved at Matthew.
Perhaps displeased at having his prayer interrupted, Matthew frowned slightly, but upon seeing that the other party was Ramsey, he immediately smiled.
“Well, I wondered who it was, and it turns out to be Brother Ramsey. You have come at the right time.”
“Haha, my apologies for disturbing you.”
“No, I am the one who should apologize. I came here in the first place to convey the bishops’ words, yet my personal prayer has disrupted the schedule.”
Matthew shook his head with a benevolent expression, then turned his gaze toward Theodora.
“You have come as well, Hero.”
“Yes. I was in your debt before, Brother.”
“No, serving the Hero is a priest’s duty.”
Matthew’s tone was courteous, but not the slightest trace of emotion could be felt on his face.
It was as though he were speaking not to a human, but to a rock or a tree.
But that expression put Theodora more at ease.
After all, that was the expression the priests had shown her most familiarly.
“Then I shall continue my prayer. Rest assured that I am listening to everything.”
With those words, Matthew began reciting his prayer once more.
Seeing this, Ramsey shrugged and looked at Theodora.
Though her expression stiffened slightly at his foxlike gaze, Theodora quietly lowered her head and waited for him to speak.
A moment later, Ramsey shook a small bronze tablet where Theodora could see it.
It was nothing more than an unadorned hexagonal metal plate, but Theodora’s blood ran cold.
“That’s…!”
“Judging by your reaction, I need not explain what this is. Yes, that’s right. Your ‘command authority’ has been given to Brother Matthew and me.”
Ramsey spoke calmly, as though it were nothing at all.
But the moment Theodora heard it, she could not stop her expression from crumbling.
For that being issued meant that the Order had decided it was time to use her.
“What am I to do?”
“Ah, it is nothing so grand. You simply need to become close to one person.”
“Become close?”
Theodora was briefly doubtful at the order, which was lighter than she had expected.
But at Ramsey’s next words, her expression stiffened once more.
“Yes. Become close to a man named Ashen. Get as close to him as possible and gather information.”
“Why that man?”
“Because he may be a heretic, of course.”
A heretic.
The instant she heard that word, Theodora’s body flinched.
The weight of the word heretic itself was heavy, but what weighed on her more was the sight she had witnessed in the dungeon.
The image of Ashen, transformed into something like a blood-soaked monster, slaughtering toadmen with red tentacles.
What she had seen then had certainly been monstrous, but…
‘Even so, he was protecting another student.’
Could someone like that truly be called a pure heretic?
Perhaps she was the one who was wrong to see him as a monster—and perhaps the Order was wrong as well.
Her chest tightened as she thought about it, but there was nothing she could do.
She had no right to judge.
Just then, Ramsey’s face drew close in front of her.
Serpentine eyes thrust right before her nose, and a cold smile.
“Does something come to mind?”
“No. It is not evidence certain enough for me to report.”
“I see. Very well.”
Ramsey looked at her for a moment with a strange gaze, then immediately turned his head.
“Get close to him and bring us proof that he is a heretic. That is your mission.”
At the order, crueler than she had expected, Theodora’s mind went blank for an instant.
‘They want me to become his friend and then act to bring about his downfall?’
Even if it was an order from the Order, was this not playing with a person’s heart?
‘I don’t want to.’
“…Must we really go that far?”
The moment Theodora spoke cautiously, Matthew’s prayer suddenly stopped.
When she turned her head slightly, she saw his expression, cold as ice.
“You dare defy an order handed down by God?”
A pure white holy flame rose from Matthew’s hand.
Then Ramsey stepped in between the two of them.
Matthew’s eyes twitched in displeasure, but soon, as though he had no choice, he withdrew the holy flame.
Ramsey extended a hand to block Matthew, then looked at Theodora with an amused gaze.
“Why do you think so?”
After being lost in thought for a moment, Theodora slowly opened her mouth.
“Do not both the Church of Light and the Church of War detest betrayal? I do not think there is any need for you to violate your doctrines for the sake of a mere heretic.”
“Ah, so that was it. How very considerate of you. But it seems you know one thing and not the other.”
Ramsey slowly approached Theodora and placed a hand on her shoulder.
A gentle, yet cold touch.
Forcing down an inexplicable disgust, Theodora looked at Ramsey.
“God’s command is more important than any doctrine. For that, we are prepared to break doctrine at any time. And…”
Right in front of Theodora’s eyes, he lightly tapped the bronze tablet with his finger.
“I doubt you wish to see me use this, do you?”
His tone was calm, as if he were merely offering a greeting.
But that alone was enough to make Theodora tremble in fear.
Watching Theodora shake all alone, Ramsey brought his mouth to her ear.
“It should not be such a difficult task. As it happens, midterms are a month away, and today is a holiday with no classes. Try asking him to study with you. If that does not work…”
Srrrk.
Ramsey’s hand softly stroked Theodora’s hair.
It was a gentle motion that did her no direct harm.
But to Theodora, it felt as though a snake were climbing through her hair.
“You are quite a beauty, so making use of that would be fine as well. Wouldn’t it?”
With those words, Ramsey and Matthew left the lounge.
Left alone, Theodora quietly nodded.
After all, no such thing as choice existed for her.
In the silence, Theodora moved her feet to find Ashen.