People gathered hurriedly at the window, peering outside at the sound of a sudden explosion.

Among them were me and Cazerose, who were fortunately sitting by the window, so we only needed to turn our heads to see what was happening.

The current time was a dark and cloudy night.

However, at this moment, the situation unfolding outside was crystal clear to our eyes.

A scene vividly visible even in the darkness.

It was… a shop engulfed in crimson flames, surrounded by a crowd of people.

At first glance, it looked like they had gathered to put out the fire that had broken out in the building.

But with a little attention, one could tell that the situation was far worse than it appeared.

The people gathered around the building weren’t there to extinguish the flames.

At this moment, what they were committing was looting… and a brutal beating of what appeared to be the shop owner and his family.

Among them were even young children, yet without hesitation, they trampled over those pleading for their lives and indiscriminately swept away the goods from the burning store.

“What… What the hell is this? I can’t just stand by. I have to intervene right now.”

As a member of the clergy, I couldn’t bear to watch such a horrific scene unfold.

Cazerose, feeling urgency, immediately tried to rush outside.

However…

“…Please stop. It won’t help if you go out there.”

In the next moment, Polena grabbed Cazerose’s hand, stopping her from acting.

Cazerose’s face began to show deep confusion.

“W-What do you mean? People are dying! Shouldn’t we stop them?”

With those words, Cazerose glanced back and forth between Polena and me.

But… I could only slowly shake my head, unable to offer her any comfort.

“This person is right. Right now, we have no choice but to quietly pretend we haven’t seen anything, just like everyone else here.”

“!..”

Upon hearing my words, Cazerose finally started to grasp the atmosphere around her.

She looked around at the people inside the pub, all silently watching the situation outside with expressions of shock and bewilderment.

Despite the darkness and the number of attackers, there were certainly many people in the pub.

Furthermore, among them were several strong-looking men.

Yet, at this moment, none of them showed any signs of wanting to rush out to help. Instead, as time passed, they merely retreated from the window, returning to their drinks with grim faces.

It was as if they had grown accustomed to such situations…

As if they understood that in times like this, ignoring it was the way to go.

Overwhelmed by a thick confusion, Cazerose sank helplessly into her seat.

Then, trembling, she turned to me and Polena with a quivering voice, asking,

“W-Why is this happening… why is no one stepping up to help, even while witnessing such a horrifying scene? People are dying! Even children… So, why is everyone…”

A situation so unfathomably horrific and shocking.

It wasn’t just that people were being attacked in the middle of the night; it was the fact that they were being so thoroughly ignored that left her speechless.

And from witnessing this, knowing the original story, I explained the situation in just one word.

“Heretics.”

“W-Wha…?”

Cazerose’s expression still showed disbelief at my single word.

Watching her, Polena began to explain more clearly with a heavy tone.

“The people being beaten are followers of the heretic doctrine. They are being killed in the middle of the night for that reason. The ones attacking them are ‘faithful believers of the church’, who insist that those evil demons must be purged.”

“Even if we were to intervene, we wouldn’t be able to help them. Although it’s extreme, they are acting in accordance with the ‘Will of the Lord.’ The reason everyone here stays silent is the same.”

Polena and I spoke in somber voices. Cazerose began to mutter in a trembling voice, lost in shock.

“B-But… how… how could anyone do this just because of religious differences? Especially those who claim to be followers of the church… such devilish acts…”

Indeed, as a paladin of the church, Cazerose could not condone heresy and wasn’t even considering it.

Even if she was anticipating her impending excommunication, she held firm to her belief that she was still a faithful believer without any shame before God.

However, such a devout belief of hers was being outright denied before her eyes.

The ‘devoted believers of the church’ looting property and even killing children, all because of heretic beliefs.

And soon after, not long passed before the situation came to an end.

The flames consuming the store subsided, and the people lying on the street ceased to move.

Leaving behind this scene, the attackers scattered, while Cazerose stood there, stunned, unable to say another word.

And…

Watching her, I felt a pang in my heart.

‘The problem is that such situations are happening all over the Sacred Empire right now. Not just in the church’s territory, but within the realm of heretics as well.’

The only difference was that in those areas, the ones being beaten were the believers of the church instead.

In other words, no matter which side it was, the inter-religious conflict within the empire had already deepened beyond repair, and now it was starting to boil to the surface.

On top of that, the death of Emperor Matthis and the rise of the passionate church believer, Sajif, meant that the conflict was on the verge of exploding.

From that perspective, what we just witnessed was merely the beginning, and I knew it all too well.

‘But still… seeing what was only described in the original work come to life like this really doesn’t feel good.’

They believed they were acting out of a sense of religious duty, but from a modern standpoint, it was nothing more than the madness of fanatics.

Moreover, knowing full well that people’s justifications and actual intents seldom match, I also recognized that what happened earlier wasn’t born from pure religious zeal.

‘To put it frankly, the heresy is just a pretext. There’s surely something more behind it. Someone is fueling this situation and driving people to gain benefits.’

At this moment, though, I didn’t find much usefulness in pondering it.
Suddenly, I noticed Cazerose gripping my hand with trembling fingers.

Taken aback by her sudden action, I felt a wave of perplexity wash over me.

With a voice full of desperation, Cazerose said to me,

“…Please… help me… I beg you…”