Benato introduced himself with an air of undeniable dominance. Jeha, after observing him for a brief moment, offered a faint, knowing smile.
“Ah, Sir Benato. As it happens, I had the pleasure of meeting Sir Xavier at Belgarga Castle just before my arrival here.”
Jeha’s polite, smiling reply seemed to soften Benato’s expression somewhat.
“So you’ve met Brother Xavier. Rumor has it that His Grace, the Marquis Belgarga, is a difficult man to encounter, yet to unexpectedly cross paths with you here… Perhaps this, too, is God’s will.”
Instead of offering a direct reply, Jeha merely smiled and nodded. Then, he spoke.
“Had we met at my castle, I would have gladly offered you a cup of tea, a missed opportunity, regrettably. However, as I am pressed for time, I must take my leave.”
Jeha bid them farewell and took a step forward. Yet, instead of parting to clear a path, Benato’s companions remained rigidly in place, blocking his way.
“Your Grace, might you spare a moment of your time?”
Benato inquired, standing ramrod straight, still obstructing the passage.
“Do you have something particular you wish to discuss?”
Jeha, suppressing a surge of irritation, asked with a puzzled expression. He then added,
“If this matter isn’t urgent, I would prefer to postpone it. Archbishop Hereis is awaiting my presence, and I would rather not keep him waiting unnecessarily.”
The deliberate mention of Hereis caused Benato to falter for a moment. However, having seemingly completed his mental calculations, he soon spoke in a somewhat softer tone.
“If the Archbishop truly awaits you, I can certainly understand your urgency. Nevertheless, this is a grave matter, and I implore you to grant us a moment of your time.”
Benato and his retinue stood firm, blocking the inn’s entrance without any intention of yielding. Their actions made it abundantly clear that they had come specifically for Jeha’s party.
“If it is truly a matter of such gravity, then naturally, I shall make time. I do hope, however, that it will not unduly prolong my journey.”
“Of course,”
Benato nodded, then cast his gaze toward the innkeeper, who was hovering nervously, unsure of what to do.
“Might we make use of the room His Grace was occupying?”
The innkeeper nodded frantically in response to Benato’s query.
“This is hardly an appropriate venue for a discussion of such import. Let us ascend to the room you were staying in.”
Benato gestured towards the stairs, indicating for them to go first. Jeha nodded, turning compliant. Behind him, Paimon and Zephyr’s expressions were notably rigid. Jeha subtly signaled for them to follow discreetly, then ascended the stairs once more.
Upon reaching the room, paladins positioned themselves with their backs to the door, standing sentinel. Once the door closed, Jeha and Benato took seats opposite each other at a table. Two attendant priests meticulously closed all the windows in the room before taking their places behind Benato. Paimon and Zephyr, likewise, stood tall behind Jeha.
It was Jeha who broke the silence.
“Well then, what exactly is this about? Are you perhaps intending to interrogate me?”
Jeha chuckled softly, as if amused by his own jest. Benato, however, did not return the smile. Instead, he proceeded directly to the heart of the matter.
“Last night, from the mountain range behind this village, I sensed an unprecedented surge of demonic energy. Though undoubtedly a great distance away, it was so potent and pure that it sent chills down my spine and left me drenched in a cold sweat.”
“Demonic energy, you say… Could there be demons or monsters inhabiting that mountain range?”
Jeha inquired, his face conveying utter unfamiliarity with such matters.
“No, that is not the case. I arrived in this territory several days ago and have been touring its various villages. When I lodged in this very village a few nights prior, I detected no trace of demonic energy whatsoever. It was only last night, during my prayers, that it suddenly manifested.”
“In that case…”
“A powerful dark entity has undeniably emerged somewhere within that mountain range.”
“A powerful dark entity, you say…”
As Jeha’s voice trailed off, his face utterly devoid of comprehension, Benato clasped his hands tightly on the table, his expression rigid as he spoke.
“I can only pray that it is not the advent of the Demon King himself.”
“…The Demon King…?”
Jeha repeated the words, as if he had just heard the most bizarre pronouncement. Benato’s expression, however, remained profoundly serious.
“It was demonic energy of such purity and intensity.”
“…I see…”
Jeha nodded, murmuring softly to himself, before turning his gaze to Benato and posing a question.
“But what, pray tell, does any of this have to do with me?”
Jeha noticed the two attendant priests, standing in parallel behind Benato, exchanging meaningful glances. It was evident that while they might not possess concrete proof, they certainly harbored enough suspicion to have accosted him in this manner.
Benato’s sharp eyes, fixed intently on Jeha, narrowed even further.
“The timing of the sudden surge of demonic energy from the mountain range was far too coincidental. Your Grace, the Marquis, arrived in this village yesterday and settled in, and lo and behold, that very night, a terrifying demonic aura erupted from the peaks directly behind us.”
As Benato spoke, his sharp eyes gleamed, almost reflective, as if determined not to miss even the slightest flicker of reaction from Jeha.
“We immediately convened the Holy Knights and rode through the night to this village, only to find that the demonic energy that had surged from the mountains was no longer discernible. And just then, Your Grace, the Marquis, was on the verge of departing the village.”
“The timing was indeed extraordinarily coincidental. I now comprehend why you wished to speak with me.”
Jeha nodded, his expression remarkably placid, as if in full understanding.
“I am relieved that you understand. Which brings me to this, Your Grace…”
“Speak your mind.”
“Might I inquire about your whereabouts last night?”
Before Jeha could even open his mouth, Zephyr’s sharp voice erupted from behind him.
“Are you, by any chance, casting suspicion upon our Marquis?”
The moment Zephyr’s fierce reprimand dropped, Kkamangi, nestled quietly in Jeha’s arms, let out a sharp, indignant hiss—”Haaack!”—at Benato.
Jeha turned to see not only the hot-headed Zephyr but even the usually composed Paimon glaring fiercely. Jeha subtly shook his head at both of them. Then, returning his gaze to Benato, he gently patted Kkamangi in his arms. The small growls gradually subsided. Benato’s gaze, however, remained anything but kind as he watched Kkamangi.
“Please forgive Sir Belmon’s impertinence. He has been with me since childhood, studying alongside me in the Eastern Continent, and knows nothing beyond the duty of protecting me.”
Jeha offered his apologies with a placid smile.
“There’s no need for such words. To command loyal retainers is a significant virtue for any noble. I have no intention of faulting him, so you needn’t worry.”
Benato spoke with a magnanimous air, then fixed his gaze silently upon Jeha, a clear unspoken demand for an answer to his question.
“My whereabouts last night…”
Jeha murmured, seemingly lost in thought for a moment, before opening his mouth once more.
“After arriving at this inn yesterday, I took my dinner and, feeling quite weary, retired straight to bed. I have not stepped outside this room since, not until breakfast was brought to me this morning. As for witnesses… yes, there would be the innkeeper, the staff, and indeed, the boisterous drunkards who prattled on throughout the night.”
Jeha’s words rang true. Since entering this room, he had not ‘walked’ out of the inn. The establishment likely possessed but a single main entrance, perhaps one additional back door. No one within the inn could have possibly witnessed Jeha exiting through any of them. The same held for Paimon, Zephyr, and the members of the Dragon Protection Association.
Knock-knock.
A knock echoed. One of the attendant priests walked over and opened the door.
Through the slightly ajar door, the attendant priest and a paladin exchanged hushed whispers. After their brief exchange, the priest closed the door and returned to relay something to Benato in an undertone.
Benato nodded, having listened to the attendant priest’s whispered report. He then addressed Jeha.
“Your Grace’s account has just been corroborated by the paladin who interrogated the inn staff. It is confirmed that neither Your Grace nor your party has left the premises since yesterday evening.”
Jeha merely offered a silent, faint smile. Benato’s sharp gaze, which had been fixed on him, now drifted to Kkamangi nestled in Jeha’s arms.
“However, Your Grace, I was informed that the kitten was certainly not with you upon your arrival. Since you have not left the inn, when and where did you acquire that kitten? Your room is on the third floor, a height from which a small kitten could hardly have leaped in through the window by itself. And, of course, it would be rather peculiar if a kitten had entered through the inn’s main door and climbed all the way to the third floor, reaching your very door, without anyone noticing.”
Haaack! Haaack!
Kkamangi hissed continuously at Benato, ears flattened back, as if the attention was deeply unwelcome. Jeha slowly stroked Kkamangi’s small back, soothing him.
“This little one is quite timid. It seems Sir Benato frightens him. Please pay it no mind; he is just a scared kitten.”
Jeha said with a smile. And then thought, ‘Indeed, how *did* he get in here?’
‘Should I just hypnotize them? Manipulate their memories?’
He was contemplating this internally when—
Knock-knock.
Again, a knock echoed.