The Regressed Sword Demon Is a Catastrophe-Class Inquisitor - Chapter 46

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 46. Listen Here, All of You.

When none of them moved, I clicked my tongue.

“Is there truly no one among you willing to have a conversation with me? How curious. Surely you’ve gathered here to protest because you harbor grievances against us.”

Then one man responded with obvious reluctance.

“How could powerless folk like us speak as equals with the Young Master? Besides, if we were to meet privately, wouldn’t that be no different from an interrogation?”
“Hmm, if that’s the concern, then follow me to the mansion with everyone. I shall offer you tea and refreshments. We can discuss matters slowly and together there.”
“That is… well…”

Still they hesitated, so I exhaled deeply.

“This won’t do, and that won’t do either. But tell me—why should we accede to your demands?”
“….”
“This is nothing but petulant obstinacy. How can we have a proper dialogue?”

They exchanged glances before the same man spoke again.

“Then does the Luminara Viscounty truly intend to revitalize this city? To speak plainly, were you not a Baron’s House until recently? Yet now you suddenly impose restrictions here—how can chaos not ensue?”
“Yes, quite right!”

The merchants voiced their agreement with the man’s words.

“What matters most to common folk is peace and stability. But what happened when this Sriben arrived? Did not the policies announced in the new lord’s name cause grain prices to skyrocket, throwing the entire city into turmoil?”

The protesters, emboldened, raised their voices louder. Some residents nearby began murmuring as well.
To them, we are nothing but outsiders.
The previous lord was an Apostle of the Evil Book Society, yet their lives were scarcely affected by it.
Perhaps their existence has grown only slightly more unstable since our arrival.
And yet, the true source of the current crisis stems from groups like these, assembled purely for their own profit.

‘Had this truly been the voice of the common people, I might have listened.’

Based on Sriben’s letter, I deduced this was a calculated crime orchestrated by someone.
They used the territory and its residents as leverage to pressure us, yet it was they who inflicted harm through their own greed.
And I was not the sort of person to tolerate such wickedness without consequence.

“Then….”
“Oh!”

The moment I opened my mouth, a child pointed at me and cried out.

“It’s Kael Inquisitor!”

A child I had seen once before.
The one wearing the brooch that Father Edgar had distributed for his demonic experiments.
A resident asked.

“You know that person?”
“Yes! The one who captured Father Edgar before and revealed that the brooch was counterfeit!”
“Ah, so that was them….”
“Heh, what a remarkable coincidence.”

The residents nearby began murmuring amongst themselves.

“See? I told you I was right?”
“It really is them….”
“Then at least they’re not as wicked as the previous lord, right?”
“Wait. Does that mean the strengthened checkpoints were truly meant to protect this city?”

This was not the village where Father Edgar had been, but word had clearly spread through the people.

‘I never expected to receive help in this manner. Things will proceed far more smoothly.’

Suppressing a smile, I observed the bewildered protesters.

“As the residents know, I have done nothing but my utmost for them. Though the present may be turbulent, that truth remains unchanged.”
“….”
“Then allow me to ask you now: are you truly acting for the welfare of this city’s residents, or for your own profit?”

They said nothing. The male inquisitor countered.

“We are residents of this city too.”
“That doesn’t mean all residents are virtuous. As Father Edgar was.”

The Male Inquisitor clenched his teeth quietly.

“…I’ve explained our position, and since the day is waning, I shall take my leave for now, Young Master Kael.”
“Very well. Should you find yourself inclined to talk again, seek me out anytime.”
“…Yes.”

As the Male Inquisitor turned to leave, the other protesters followed in his wake. He appeared to be the leader of this village’s merchant collective.

“Hold on, all of you.”

I called them to a halt briefly.
As they turned their heads, I bid them farewell with a small smile.

“Until we meet again.”

Next time, I would meet them not as the eldest son of the Luminara Family, but as a Heresy Inquisitor.
Whether he grasped the meaning or not, the Male Inquisitor bit his lip firmly before turning away.
As the crowd gradually dispersed, Sriben exhaled deeply in relief.

“Phew, they’re finally gone. Thank you for coming, Young Master.”
“Indeed. You’ve aged quite a bit in my absence.”
“I’d rather have more work than this—dealing with people is never easy.”

Sriben adjusted his glasses and asked.

“But what will you do now?”
“What else? I need to crush those pulling the strings from behind as well.”
“I see.”
“Do you have any suspects in mind?”
“There is one place to start. The Monks Guild, which most of the protesters are affiliated with. If we think simply, they likely orchestrated this commotion. In fact, there was some sort of transaction with Baron Scalen.”

This was formerly Scalen Territory.
Though the lord had vanished, those who benefited under his rule still remained here.

“However, the Merchant Lord of the Monks Guild and his executives are currently imprisoned in the Theocracy due to my testimony. So it’s unclear who exactly orchestrated this disturbance.”

Yet it doesn’t seem like genuine discontent has erupted into actual protests.
It’s difficult to attribute such a sharp spike in grain prices solely to Sriben’s policies.

“But not everyone working at the Monks Guild was arrested, were they?”
“That’s true. Since others know the distribution channels, they can manipulate grain prices to a certain extent.”

Sriben continued.

“However, the problem is that the scale is far too large for this to be the work of ordinary city merchants squabbling among themselves. Ultimately, we must keep market prices elevated until we meet their demands, but even these merchants aren’t without losses.”
“Exactly. An operation like this is impossible without substantial capital.”

I paused briefly before speaking.

“What if the Merchant Lord of the Monks Guild wasn’t actually arrested?”
“Pardon? I’ve confirmed it myself—he was definitely arrested.”
“That’s not what I mean. The truth is, he was never the real Merchant Lord.”
“…You’re suggesting the Merchant Lord of the Monks Guild was merely someone’s puppet from the beginning?”
“That would explain why they moved so seamlessly even after their Merchant Lord was taken.”

There are indeed cases like this.
Men who set up puppets to evade criminal suspicion, pulling the strings from the shadows.
And such men are never ordinary.

“That’s possible. Baron Scalen wouldn’t have dealt with them without reason.”

Sriben, who had been pondering, nodded in agreement.

“Then we must uncover the truth quickly. If grain prices remain like this, the residents won’t trust us either.”

I tilted my head at that.

“Why concern yourself with that?”
“Pardon? But they’re your residents now, Young Master.”
“No, I mean why should we concern ourselves with grain at all?”
“What do you…?”

When Sriben didn’t understand, I exhaled deeply.

“Have I truly become a fool? Did I forget that our territory is primarily agricultural?”
“I understand that, but hasn’t it only been a short time since we resolved the plague?”
“Wheat may take longer, but mung beans and buckwheat grow quickly. Of course, the fields we just cleared of plague will have delayed harvests, but we can use the crops from the unaffected fields first. Once time passes, we’ll supplement with the harvested yields from the plague-cleared fields.”
“Ah…!”

I glared at Sriben, who was marveling at the realization.

“You fool, always staring at documents at your desk. This won’t do. Once this commotion ends, you’re going to till some fields.”
“Ha ha….”
“Don’t laugh. Not before I harvest your teeth.”
“Yes. My apologies, Young Master.”

In a way, this was fortunate.
If Sriben hadn’t thought of this, no one else would have either.

“There’s no need to sell cheaply. They’ll sell well at our usual prices. The permits are ours anyway.”
“As expected of you, Young Master.”

I had originally planned to distribute the surplus crops from the Luminara Mainland to Haven City.
This plan was simply being accelerated.

“We’ll use this as bait. If there truly is a real Merchant Lord behind this, they’ll inform him that his plans have fallen through.”
“Then we need only observe who among them holds the decision-making authority. A brilliant stratagem, Young Master.”
“Move immediately. I’m going to send a letter to Father first.”
“What should I do?”

I turned on my heel to answer Sriben’s eager question.

“Do nothing. Just sleep at the mansion.”
“Thank you, Young Master.”
“Bella, come with me and sing a lullaby for him.”
“Yes! Inquisitor!”

Whether this would be a reward or punishment for Sriben, I couldn’t say.
I had no way of knowing.

* * *

A week had passed.
The protesting merchants gathered in one place.

“Haha, I thought he might do something, but there’s been no response at all.”
“Because of that, discontent is spreading among the residents too. The market conditions haven’t changed for a week since then.”
“Of course, we merchants who sell goods are taking a heavy blow, but compared to what we’ll gain afterward, this much is acceptable.”

One merchant looked toward the man seated at the head of the table.

“Jacob, if things continue like this, the Monks Guild will truly become ours, won’t it?”

Jacob was the man who had led the protest and spoken with Kael.

“Of course. However, at that time it will become the Jacob Guild rather than the Monks Guild.”
“Haha, what does the name matter? What’s important is securing a position in a merchant organization of that scale.”

Jacob nodded in agreement.

“To accomplish that, we must extract various monopoly rights from the Viscounty—both those that existed before and those that didn’t.”

With the Merchant Lord of the Monks Guild imprisoned, several monopoly rights had naturally ceased to exist.
Therefore, we needed to reclaim those and also obtain monopoly rights that had never existed before.

“But setting aside monopoly rights, why are you trying to ease things like strengthened inspections?”
“I’m not certain either. ‘That person’ instructed it, so we simply follow.”

That person was the one who had proposed giving Jacob a merchant organization as large as the Monks Guild.

“But I suspect it might be because of smuggling and such.”
“I see.”
“In any case, if things continue this way, they’ll have no choice but to comply with our demands. How could they possibly overcome the resentment of the residents?”

The merchants nodded in agreement.
One merchant asked with concern.

“But wouldn’t Luminara Mainland be agricultural land? Wouldn’t that be a problem?”
“That region is ravaged by plague. Most of the fields are incapable of cultivation. They struggle merely to feed themselves, let alone distribute crops.”
“To that extent?”
“Yes. According to what I heard, Baron Scalen himself spread that plague. Moreover, only Baron Scalen knew how to resolve it.”
“But now Baron Scalen is gone.”
“Indeed. Still, there was a possibility he revealed the cure during interrogation, so I visited Luminara Territory shortly after Baron Scalen’s death. But all I heard were the residents’ sighs.”

Jacob shrugged his shoulders.

“Honestly, I have no idea how they managed to claim this territory and become a Viscounty. No matter how much the eldest son contributed to capturing Baron Scalen, it’s a family destined to collapse on its own.”
“Ha, quite right.”
“Well, we just need to extract what we can from them and be done with it.”

It mattered little to them if this territory fell to ruin. They would simply drain it dry and move on to another territory afterward.
They were smiling at the prospect of wealth rolling in.

“S-Sirs! You should come outside and see this!”

A merchant burst through the door, shouting. Jacob’s expression grew puzzled.

“What is the matter?”
“New crops are being distributed and sold right now!”
“What?”

Jacob’s pupils dilated in shock, and the others’ mouths fell slightly open.
New crops? They thought they controlled every supplier bringing goods to this place.
Who dared sell crops without going through them?
True, someone not affiliated with the merchant guild could theoretically bring crops privately and sell them—which is why they’d subtly applied pressure to prevent such dealings.

“Where exactly?”
“This way!”

They rushed toward the location.
The first thing that caught their eyes was a long line of residents stretching down the street.
Following the line, they discovered that the very shops they’d pressured were selling crops at ordinary prices.

“Where could this possibly be coming from…?”

The quantity of crops was far beyond what individuals could procure on their own. Moreover, distribution on this scale would be impossible without proper channels….

“Jacob, look over there.”

The man pointed to a sign hanging in the shop. It read:

「Cheap and delicious crops from Luminara Mainland!」

The other merchants reacted violently upon seeing it.

“L-Luminara Mainland?”
“We were told not to worry because a plague was spreading there!”
“How is this even possible?!”

Had they resolved the plague in the meantime? Or had they forcibly brought harvests from fields that were still intact?

‘No, they wouldn’t be foolish enough to do that. The residents of Luminara Mainland would rise up in revolt.’

They had resolved the plague.
And enough time had passed that they had the surplus to distribute crops to other regions.

‘Damn it. This was an unforeseen variable I never accounted for.’

Jacob, who had been flustered, gritted his teeth and responded.

“Keep your voice down. Are we advertising what we did?”
“….”
“I’ll report this matter to him. We’ll reconvene afterward.”
“…Understood.”

As they dispersed, Jacob hurried away.
He arrived at a small logistics warehouse.
Inside were boxes of various sizes and types. Jacob seized a small box in the center.

Click—

Inside the box was a crystal orb. A communication artifact.

– What is it.

As the connection established, an arrogant man’s voice flowed through.

“Rabek, there’s been a complication with the plan. They’re currently selling crops they’ve brought from the Luminara Mainland.”
– Hmm? But the plague should have prevented any farming there, shouldn’t it? And didn’t you confirm this fact yourself?
“That’s… I only confirmed it right after Baron Scalen’s death…”
– Fool!!

His voice rang out sharply.

– You should have verified once more after being promoted to Viscount! Would the Theocracy carelessly hand over territory to someone unqualified?
“I-I apologize… The Viscounty had only recently been established, and afterward I was too preoccupied with other matters…”
– This is absurd. I didn’t think you could be this incompetent.

Jacob bit his lip hard before asking.

“What should we do now?”

After a prolonged silence, Rabek issued his command.

– Spread rumors that the crops are plague-infected. Then the residents will accept the significantly lower prices compared to elsewhere. Besides, some of the residents already know the plague spread through the Luminara Territory.
“Understood.”
– Tsk, can’t you even think of something this simple on your own? You need to be appropriately incompetent.
“My apologies.”
– Hang up.
“Ah, wait a moment. And…”

That was when it happened.
A crimson thread appeared across Jacob’s wrist as he held the communication artifact.
His hand then slipped away silently, as if sliding off.

“…What?”

Faced with the sudden sight, Jacob let out a confused sound rather than a scream.
There was no time for screaming afterward. A powerful impact struck his abdomen, and his body was hurled into the air.

Crash!

Jacob smashed through boxes and slammed into the wall, blood spilling from his mouth.
Only then did Jacob realize he was under attack, and he groaned as he lifted his head.

“Who on earth….”
“I told you.”

A cold voice tapped against my ears.
A pristine black priest’s cassock. In stark contrast, a sword stained with fresh blood.

“See you again.”

Standing there was not the Young Master of the Luminara Family, but a Heretic Inquisitor.

* * *

“How did you get here….”

I tailed Jacob the moment I saw him hurrying off somewhere. And sure enough, I picked up a lead.
I ignored the man and approached the communication artifact. The moment he saw that, he quickly shouted.

“R-Rabek! We’re under attack!”

But his voice would never reach its destination.
The instant I severed his wrist, Bella cast a sound-blocking spell around the communication artifact.
I gestured to Bella standing before the door, and the man fell silent as the magic surrounding the artifact dissipated.
I picked it up with my bare hand.

‘This isn’t a Zarkan Empire communication artifact.’

So it doesn’t seem to be related to the Empire.

– What’s happening?

First, I modulated my vocal cords to answer his question.

Crackle—

I’d heard Jacob’s voice enough over the past week of demonstrations that mimicking his vocal cords posed no problem.

“Ah, my apologies. A rat suddenly darted out.”
– Tsk, making a fuss over something so trivial. So what did you want to say?
“Would it be possible to meet in person? The eldest son’s movements seem rather unusual.”
– Handle a mere Heresy Inquisitor on your own. I have no interest in wasting my precious time on someone who can’t even manage that.

I knew he wouldn’t budge at this point. He was far too cautious—the type who would manipulate a puppet Merchant Lord.
I stared at the communication artifact for a moment. A crystal orb smaller than those used by the Zarkan Empire, its blue glow deeper and more intense.

‘Now I understand what kind of man he is.’

I spoke casually.

“Today, he suddenly said something like this: ‘The shadow of the moon is not dark.'”

This was the secret code of the Moon Shadow Group—an organization composed of mages from the Theocracy.
If he was indeed a member of the Moon Shadow Group as I suspected, he would react to this.

– …What? He really said that?

I’d struck gold.
I suppressed my smile and asked.

“Yes. Could it be some kind of hint?”
– No, that’s….

He fell silent, struggling to explain. Then, as if steeling his resolve, he spoke.

– Understood. Tomorrow at 10 PM. I’ll see you there.

I had no idea where “there” was.
But fortunately, someone who could answer that question stood right beside me, so I grinned and accepted.

“Yes, I’ll be waiting there.”

Wherever it is, it will become Hell for you.

(To be continued in the next chapter)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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