Ethan: What’s the matter?
Ethan immediately approached us after noticing the inquisitor’s arm. His eyes narrowed and stared at me with a dangerous glint; his hands placed on his sword.
Ethan: Di Qi Ju, come out!!
Di Qi Ju: Uh…ah…
I lowered my head and walked towards them with a downcast look; as if I was a child who got caught misbehaving.
The entire queue halted at this moment, their eyes trained on me.
…I don’t even know what I’ve done wrong. Why do I feel an unusual amount of embarrassment?
Ethan: Inquisitor, what’s his crime?
??: Ah…no, I didn’t mean it that way.
Ethan: Was it such an unspeakable crime that you’re too embarrassed to say it out?
??: No, there’s no such thing. I just noticed an interesting drug on him.
Ethan: He’s a poison trafficker?
??: It’s not a poison, it’s for personal use.
Ethan: Hallucinatory drugs?
??: No…it’s a medicinal drug.
??: I only wanted to inquire about this drug for research purposes since it was a drug I’ve never seen before.
Ethan: It’s not linked to any memory regarding crime?
??: There were some sections I couldn’t understand, but I’ve judged that he is not a criminal.
Ethan:……
Ethan: Sir Inquisitor, please do not scare us because of your personal interests.
??: Sorry about that. I’ve had an experience where something that interested me escaped right under my eyes so I’m sensitive to these sorts of things.
Ethan: His personal details are already registered, you can find him through us at your own convenience later.
Ethan: This I swear by Westrealm’s name, may his followers forever guard his faith.
??: Alright…please proceed with the inspection.
Ethan: Ok. Di Qi Ju, fall in!
Di Qi Ju:……???
Di Qi Ju: Yes sir…
This sudden interruption caused a stir among the laborers, me included. The previously quiet queue gradually erupted in a clamoring of discussion and complains.
However, Ethan would have none of this. His patience was being tested and he did not like it. With a withering glare at the laborers, he took a deep breath and shouted…
Ethan: Idiots—–!! Shut your mouths now!!
Ethan: The inquisitor in front of you is known as Hilda Carlyle. She’s an esteemed personage from the Middle Ring of the Divine Hall. She’s someone you guys would never be able to catch a glimpse of, even if you wanted to.
Ethan: Under her inspection, all your memories are laid bare before god; whether it’s your true names, weapons, blood or drugs.
Ethan: No matter what crime you have committed, God will know of it!
Ethan: If there’s any criminal who does not treasure his life, stand out now and don’t waste our time! If you are a faithful follower of God, you will show respect to his emissary!
Ethan: Now keep moving! Did I say you can stop!?
After that round of scolding, the crowd learnt their lesson and moved along quietly.
My body shook violently as I made my way back to the group. Just like the person in front of me, I was terribly disturbed by this encounter.
This feeling, how should I describe it?
It’s that kind of feeling when you have a secret that while it isn’t really a big deal, must never under any circumstances, be revealed.
The kind where even a hint of suspicion would leave you terribly unsettled.
Mo Chuan:……Ju?
Di Qi Ju:……
A short while later, my shivering gradually stopped and I finally calmed down.
I seemed to remember Ethan mentioning that any memories regarding weapons, blood or drugs were part of the inspection radius.
Drugs…
As a person from the modern era, I would’ve been in contact with various kinds of drugs since childhood. Anything from hepatitis b vaccines to throat lozenges could have fallen under the umbrella of medicinal drugs in this world.
That inquisitor must’ve seen my memories from Earth.
In a sense, I’ve been exposed, but thankfully she didn’t notice that those memories were from a different world.
Why…why did this religious organization require their inquisitors to wish for such an inane ability?
Di Qi Ju: Mo Chuan…is it normal for these kind of operations to have an inquisitor inspecting the crowd?
Mo Chuan: No. Definitely not. I’m a believer of Westrealm as well, and I’ve never heard of a country being able to hire an inquisitor from the middle ring for such a task.
Oh, I Guess that implies she shouldn’t be accompanying us on this expedition? Well, that’s a relief.
Di Qi Ju: Hah…don’t tell she just happened to pass by and decided to help out?
Mo Chuan:……
Mo Chuan: I want to refute that ridiculous statement, but that seems to be the only plausible explanation right now.
Di Qi Ju: I didn’t know the seasonal wolves worshiped Westrealm as well.
Mo Chuan: Of course we do. We possess wish points as well.
Mo Chuan: Back to the main issue, exactly what kind of medicine did you take? You seem unusually stupid today.
Di Qi Ju: Hey, don’t insult me in such a roundabout way.
Well all that matters is that I have successfully overcome this disaster.
…If there’s going to be a jump scare every day, I might have to wish for an ability to strengthen my psyche just to maintain my sanity.
Having completed the final test, I followed our troop leader out of the hole in the wall.
I, Di Qi Ju, 16, male, after overcoming a series of terrifying but non-life threatening obstacles, has finally gotten a job in this alternate world.
Although it’s merely hard labor.
………
………
After passing through the city walls, we arrived at a stretch of plains upon which we made a quick march through. Soon the level ground of the plains were replaced by the undulating terrain of a dense jungle.
Thankfully, the scouting party had previously traversed this path, and had established a base camp at the edge of the previously explored zone. As such, there was already a dirt path awaiting us upon arrival in the jungle. This meant the work of building a simple road was already done.
Sufficient manpower, sufficient supplies and an organized contingent. All these were easy for a country that spent so much time on exploration.
The construction of Honor 10 years ago, could have been said to be preparatory stage for this expedition.
All our preparations were done and the only thing left to be concerned about was the unknown future ahead.
Unknown life forms, unexpected acts of god and the vast expanse of land to be claimed. From now onwards, every step we took was one fraught with potential danger.
However, to the officer in the command post ahead, all of these were inconsequential at the moment.
Breman sat with his brows furrowed in the temporary command post, his handsome face wracked with worry. It was at this tense moment that Ethan entered the room and gave the standard military salute.
Ethan: Sir, the inquisitor, Hilda Carlyle, has just left.
Breman: …oh.
Breman: She joined up with the inquisition team sent by the Divine Hall?
Ethan: That’s right, several other inquisitors came to pick her up.
Breman: Direction?
Ethan: They didn’t take the same path as us. Instead, they left towards a remote frontier village in the south.
Breman: South huh…
Breman: I heard that kid, Di Qi Ju, entered from the south gate as well?
Ethan:…I’m not sure. I’m not aware of any of the new recruits entering the city from a gate other than the western and northern ones.
Breman: I only learnt of this fact during my morning patrols when I happened on a conversation between the southern sentries.
It can’t be…it can’t be such a coincidence.
A plethora of theories swam around his head at the moment. It was clearly not the time for this but he couldn’t help himself.
Breman: How far are we from that site? The site known as [Starfall] where he kingdom’s exploratory squad got wiped out 10 years ago.
Ethan: 100 km…with a 20% margin of error based on my wish ability.
Breman: 100 km…20% margin of error….
Manpower, resources, mobility, morale…all these numbers flashed across his mind as he made his calculations. Soon, an answer was ready. With this as his base, he adjusted their future plans accordingly.
Breman: We will focus on building up the known territories for now and steadily make our way towards Starfall. In 15 days, we should have reached the outer edges of Starfall.
Breman: Make sure to control those scouts with stronger wish abilities. I do not want them to wander more than 5 km away from their nearest teammate.
Breman: The minimum goal of this expedition is to recover the exploration logs of that scouting team from 10 years ago.
Breman:……
Breman: And…try to minimize our casualties as well.
Ethan: Yes sir!
That additional sentence was one Breman did not originally intend to say, but given their current intelligence reports, he had no choice but to do so.
…Even though he was fully aware that it was merely wishful thinking.
Footnotes:
Credits:
Special thanks to 7STARDARK BLADE! The first ever patron of Catato Patch Translations.
