12 O’Clock Marionette

Chapter 26

I stopped walking without realizing it.

"Hey, woman! What the hell are you doing? Move!"

"Ah, yes! My leg cramped. I'll get going right away."

I resumed walking.

But unlike before, a hopeful thought was forming in my mind.

No one actually knows what kind of miracle this relic can perform.

Which means… no matter what happens, I can pretend it’s a miracle.

I glanced at the approaching intruders.

Three steps away.

As I got closer, a faint stench of dark magic emanated from them.

So, they weren’t actually followers of Recanon. That worked in my favor.

Two steps.
One step.
And stop.

"Can I hand it over now?"

"Give it to me!"

The leader tossed aside the hostage he had been using as a shield and reached for the relic.

At that moment, I gathered my divine power without hesitation.

No need for an incantation.

Release.

"AAARGH!!"

The deafening scream was satisfying.

A burst of radiant light erupted, as blinding as the sun itself.

It was already too much for ordinary people to bear.
For dark magic users, it would be pure agony.

The sheer force of divine energy even distorted the gate behind them.

And just as planned—true Recanon followers wouldn’t be harmed by Recanon’s own relic.
This would prove they were frauds.

"Wh-what is happening…?!"

"Now is our chance! Seize the rioters!"

"Oh, my god!"

The dazed priests and holy knights surged forward.

The intruders, already incapacitated, were quickly subdued.

Ahh, that felt so damn good—

"Cough!"

I spat out blood.

"W-what?! Follower!"

Huh?

A red stain spread across the relic, dripping from my lips.

Why?
I hadn't even overexerted myself.

As I stared at the unexpected blood, the source of my pain made its presence known.

The donkey-headed relic in my arms.

From deep within, a completely different divine energy stirred.

And rage.

Realizing this, I didn’t get angry.

I laughed.

"Ah, so… you haven’t completely faded away."

Recanon must have been furious that I had channeled another god’s power into its relic.

That was… a relief.

Even if my body gave out and my vision blurred, it meant something was still there.

Someone caught me as my knees buckled.

"A-are you alright?!"

A blur of brown and red filled my dimming vision.

It took me a moment to realize—it was the hostage the leader had been holding.

Then, everything went black.

***

Second Time Losing Consciousness

I hadn’t even been Siora for that long, and yet—
this was already the second time I had blacked out.

I blinked up at an unfamiliar ceiling.

Where was I?

I still felt like Siora, at least.

Someone spoke.

"Are you awake?"

It was Mamic.

She was using the wall as a desk, scribbling something on a sheet of paper.

Huh.

"…What’s that?"

"A report. They asked me to summarize what happened."

"Ah. How long have I been out?"

"Oh, not long. Just three hours. This is the infirmary, but I wanted to talk to you, so I waited until you woke up."

Mamic smiled.

But a strange nervousness lurked beneath her expression.

"First of all, I should thank you. Thanks to you, Recanon’s name has been cleared."

"It wasn’t me. The relic did all the work."

"Even so, it did nothing when it was in my hands."

Mamic hesitated before continuing.

I silently glanced around the room.

Several hospital beds lined the walls, but there was no one else here.

Perfect.

"Can you teach me how you used the relic? I mean, I’m supposed to be its descendant, but I can’t even use it, and that’s kind of embarra—"

"Are you scared of losing your position?"

"What? No, that’s not it…!"

"Hey."

Mamic blinked slowly.

As if my boldly casual way of addressing her short-circuited her brain.

"D-did you just… say ‘hey’ to me…?"

"You’re not actually a follower of Recanon, are you?"

"What? Of course I am!"

"The relic told me."

A complete lie.

A pure, innocent, immaculate lie.

"Th-that’s ridiculous! Hahaha, what are you saying? You must still be a little out of it after passing out. The relic… talking? Hah, that’s funny, how could it possibly—"

"It did. When I was holding it."

A flicker of emotions crossed Mamic’s face.

Shock. Suspicion. Fear.

I silently whispered a spell under my breath.

?Second Spell. Discern.

A simple truth-detection spell—particularly effective on people who were emotionally shaken.

Among devout believers, it was known as the "Honest Prayer."

"The priests will believe me."

Mamic froze stiff.

Like a stone.

Then, her restrained anger and anxiety exploded.

"So what?! What are you going to do? Report me?"

Wow. That worked really well.

"Ooh, informal speech."

"Why?! You talk casually, but I can’t?! You’re at least ten years younger than me!"

"I didn’t say you couldn’t. But… how old are you?"

"…Thirty-one. That’s not the point!"

"Yeah, yeah. The point is Recanon."

"AAAGH! Recanon, Recanon— I’m so sick of it!"

Mamic threw her report against the wall.

I picked it up without a word and skimmed through it again.

"What the hell even is an ‘ancient god’?! If gods exist in everything, does that mean everything is a god?! What kind of joke is that?!"

"Hmm. Hmm."

"If everything’s divine, then what am I?! Why am I like this?!"

"You’re a saint."

"Bullshit!"

Mamic screamed and tugged at her own hair.

I briefly focused my senses on the door, just in case.

Then—she whipped around to face me.

"I didn’t have a choice, okay?! I didn’t want to pretend to be the descendant of some god I don’t even know! But what else was I supposed to do?!"

Mamic rolled up her sleeves and stretched out her arms.

Her body was beyond thin—not just malnourished, but lifelessly weak.

"I had to survive somehow! What the hell was I supposed to do with this body?!"

She laughed bitterly.

Then, she collapsed onto the bed beside me.

Gripping my hand, she begged.

"Please, just let this go. Just this once. I’m begging you. Do you need something? Do you want help? Do you have questions?"

"Then tell me—how did you get the relic?"

"Why does that matter right now?!"

"Oh well, I guess I should go report you."

"Wait! Fine! I’ll tell you!"

She hesitated, eyes darting around as if trying to piece together the right version of the truth.

"What are you scheming…?"

"N-no scheming! I just… don’t remember clearly. There was a record next to the relic…"

"Just tell me what you know."

"My ancestor was a follower of some church. They… fought against Recanon and took the relic as a war trophy."

"…Which church?"

"Uhh… it started with P or F…"

I took a deep breath and asked—

"Pebula?"

"Yeah! That was it! How did you know?"

"The relic told me."

"Liar! …Wait, really?"

Mamic tilted her head, her expression uncertain.

I sighed.

I had a suspicion.

The handwriting on Mamic’s report was too distinct.

And I had seen it before.

"This is what is truly happening in the world beyond."

"Oh, ancient god Pebula, grant us a miracle."

A note—scrawled on the final page of The Book of Fate.

Mamic was the one who wrote that book and offered it as a sacrifice to Pebula.

It hadn’t happened yet, but I was certain.

"Sigh."

I’d always wanted to know who wrote The Book of Fate.

When the Pebula temple was sealed off, I thought every priest and follower had been trapped inside.

So how had someone outside been able to offer a sacrifice?

I was curious.
Who was so devoted to saving the world that they went that far?

And then—

"It was Mamic?"

"What’s that supposed to mean?"

So this entire mess I’ve been dealing with… was because of a fraud?!

My sense of purpose deflated instantly.

Of course, I had lied when necessary, too—but at least my lies were well-intended.

Totally different.

Still, this complicated things.

Why did a follower of Pebula have Recanon’s relic?

The Evil God Theory came to mind.
It was a serious concern.

But for now, I needed to wrap up this conversation.

"So, are you still going to report me?"

"I'm not."

"…Really?"

Obviously.

I didn’t trust her in the slightest,
but I wasn’t about to sell out someone from my own group.

It wasn’t even worth the effort.

Of course—I wouldn’t let her off for free.

"Instead—"

"…What?"

"You’re going to find that record and bring it to me. As soon as possible."

"That’s all…?"

"And if I ever need something, you’ll help me.
Do that, and I’ll keep my mouth shut."

Mamic blinked.

Then, she smiled like a child and nodded.

***

Resolution of the Recanon Incident

To summarize:

• Recanon’s name was fully cleared.
• The real culprit behind the poisoned holy water was exposed as an outside agent who had infiltrated the church.
• However—

"He was poisoned. His body was covered in thorn-like wounds, likely from plant-based magic."

The culprit had been found dead.

With that, public sympathy for Recanon grew.
Rumors spread about the miracle performed by the relic.

The temple wasn’t happy about it—but not my problem.

I received plenty of gratitude from the Recanon Church.
And I even met the priest who wrote the puppet theater script.

I had hoped it was pure fiction—

"Yes, the evil god in the puppet play was indeed Pebula."

"I happened to visit the imperial library and read about it there."

"If you’re interested in Recanon, you should check it out too."

…Maybe I shouldn’t have met him.

My faith in humanity had dropped,
but at least I gained something.

For my great contribution to resolving the case, I was summoned—

To receive my reward money!

An Audience With the Crown Prince

"You did well. Thank god it was a noble of the Empire who handled the temple’s problems."

A woman exhaled in relief.

Short, platinum-blond hair.
A strong, solid build, despite not being particularly tall.

She was the Crown Prince of the Empire.

"The temple was raising hell over the sacred beasts,
but thanks to you, they finally shut up."

I bowed politely and lied through my teeth.

"The relic shining in my hands was mere coincidence, but I’m glad it helped."

"You’re not asking about the sacred beasts?"

"If I were meant to know,
I would have heard about it already."

"The Duke didn’t tell you anything?"

A test.

As if I’d fall for that.

I blinked innocently, as if I had no idea what she meant.

The Crown Prince chuckled.

"You didn’t even coordinate your stories? The Duke used you as an excuse while protecting the sacred beasts."

"…Excuse me?"

"My future fiancé is so soft-hearted,
he begged me to let him protect the sacred beasts."

CRUELLOOOOOOOO!!!