Grant Me Permission to Be a Righteous Thief Today, Part 2
The Pope's office. Normally, this was a restricted area where no one but the Pope—the supreme leader of the Holy Kingdom and the master of the office—could even set foot. Thus, the office could be called the only private space granted to the current Pope, Angelo III. Or rather, it had been. At least, that was no longer the case.
"..."
The Pope cast a deeply worried look toward the bed placed right in the middle of his office. Normally, there was no bed in the office. When the Pope finished his daily duties and went to sleep, he would head to a separate bedroom prepared for him. Yet, a bed sat awkwardly right in the center of his workspace. To make matters worse, curtains had been drawn all around it to keep the interior dark.
The sudden, unannounced awakening of the Main God Justia a few days ago was the reason for this bizarre setup. Upon waking from her long slumber, Justia had abruptly declared that she "wasn't fully awake yet." She ordered a place for her to rest be set up in the Pope's office and commanded him to remain on standby by her side at all times until she arose again. The result was the current situation. The office's table and sofa had been cleared away, and a large bed had been brought into the empty space.
For the Pope, it was a relief that Justia had fallen back asleep immediately after waking. If she had proudly announced her return to the rest of the believers, it would have caused an uncontrollable uproar. An unprecedented event, one that hadn't occurred for at least a thousand years, had taken place. And of all times, it had to be right now. That fact tortured the Pope immensely.
As far as the Pope knew, the past few centuries had been a peaceful era, free from the ravages of war. Great wars that decided the fates of nations were things only found in history books. Legends and myths of a Demon King appearing to throw the entire continent into chaos simply did not happen anymore. The forest elves behaved themselves, or had even opened up parts of the Great Forest to the public after developing them into tourist attractions. As for demons, the extent of their mischief was limited to about ten high-level devils who called themselves "Pandemonium" occasionally causing trouble.
While the threats of heresy and demons still existed, it was practically a golden age of peace compared to the era when Teodoro IV waged holy wars against the Demon King. Aside from that, the most they had to deal with were rumors of heresy or demon worship. When such news arrived, they would dispatch inquisitors to investigate and, if necessary, deploy a small squad of Holy Knights to wrap things up. Therefore, the Pope believed he would be able to live out the rest of his life in peace and luxury as the ruler of the Holy Kingdom.
But now, a massive bomb that threatened to completely shatter that peace had appeared before his eyes. Even among those who knew of the Main God's return, a great shockwave had already rippled through. Just yesterday, the cardinals who were privy to the truth had been locked in a fierce, sharp debate. One side argued that they must proclaim the Main God's awakening to all the people as quickly as possible, while the other side endlessly argued against it.
For now, thanks to the Pope's mediation, they had agreed on a temporary compromise: "We will maintain the current status quo until the Main God, who has gone back to sleep, awakens once more." However, this was nothing more than a stopgap measure. The Main God had indeed said with her own mouth, "I am not fully awake, so I shall sleep a little longer." But before that, she had handed down a command: to find her other half, who was somewhere on the continent.
Justia's other half. This was the real problem.
Strictly speaking, the awakening of the Main God Justia itself was incredibly good news—nothing could be more joyous for the Holy Kingdom. It would solidify the kingdom's legitimacy, and proving the physical existence of their god would strengthen their unity and diplomatic dominance. However, the hidden truth that this Main God had a counterpart of equal status to her main body was a different story. It was because of the prophetic verses that had been expunged from the scriptures for being "impious."
The Main God Justia did not know that her believers had erased parts of the scriptures while she slept. That was why she had so casually ordered them to find her other half. The deity's command was absolute. As a believer serving the Main God Justia, the Pope had to obey her instructions. But what if they revealed the truth about the deleted prophecy and the fabricated scriptures to the believers? This was a problem that went far beyond simply learning a forgotten fact. It was a grave matter that could crack the legitimacy of the Papal Palace, and by extension, the entire Holy Kingdom.
Thus, the Pope was anxious. If the Main God behind the curtain woke up again right this moment, an uncontrollable storm would erupt depending on her whims. Thus, the Pope felt wronged. In the first place, it wasn't him who had deleted the scriptures; it was people from a very long time ago. Yet, the moment the fabrication of the scriptures was exposed, the ones who would have to take responsibility were the current Pope, Angelo III, and the Papal Palace centered around him.
"Ah..."
He felt suffocated.
Leaning back against the chair in his office, the Pope let out a low groan. What on earth should I do in a situation like this? He closed his eyes tightly, pondering the question.
At that moment—
"Y-Your Holiness!"
Suddenly, the firmly shut door of the office burst open. At the same time, the Pope's secretary rushed into the room, panting.
"Can you not keep your voice down?"
Terrified by the noise, the Pope scolded him in a hushed, dying whisper. Startled, the secretary quickly glanced toward the bed and bowed his head deeply.
"My... apologies."
"As long as you understand. Now, tell me, what on earth is so urgent that you make such a racket?"
At the Pope's words, the secretary nodded vigorously, then turned his head to glance at the bed once more.
"It is..."
"Do not hesitate. Speak at once."
"R-Rumors that the Main God has awakened are spreading throughout the entire Holy City."
Crash!
In an instant, all strength drained from his legs. The Pope fell backward, his buttocks slamming hard against the carved marble floor. A dull pain shot up his backside, but he couldn't even register it.
"H-How could such a—"
What kind of nonsense was this? The Pope doubted his own ears. Immediately after, he wondered if his secretary had eaten something wrong.
"Y-Your Holiness."
The secretary quickly rushed over to support the fallen Pope and helped him back into his chair. Even then, the Pope did not groan from the pain; he simply wore an expression of sheer horror.
"The citizens... heard the rumor?"
"Yes, Your Holiness. And upon hearing the news, the believers are gathering at the Grand Cathedral all at once."
Currently, the Grand Cathedral was completely closed to the public under the pretext of maintenance. They had even gone so far as to erase the memories of the noble children from the Empire and their guiding priest who were present when the door to the Hall of Dormancy shattered. This was, of course, to thoroughly hide the fact of the Main God Justia's awakening.
"How on earth did the rumor leak to the outside..."
While his voice trembled as he forced the words out, the Pope desperately racked his brain to figure out how the rumor had spread.
Manipulating another person's memory was fundamentally a forbidden act, and according to the doctrines of the Central Church, it was considered an unrighteous sin. Even so, the Papal Palace had chosen to erase the memories of the initial witnesses. This was by no means done with the intention of "moving in the right direction even if it deviates from doctrine." It was simply to stably maintain the current system of the Church. Because of this, there were those within the Papal Palace who voiced their dissatisfaction with the measure. Naturally, the most likely culprits were the radicals who argued that "the Goddess's awakening must be widely proclaimed."
"It must be those old fools. No one else would do this."
Having quickly reached a conclusion, the Pope spoke with absolute certainty. He reflexively began to recite a prayer and drew the sign of the cross, but remembering that his religion's supreme deity was resting just a few meters away, he let out a long, heavy sigh.
"First, calming the citizens is our top priority. Deploy the Holy Knights to disperse those gathered at the Grand Cathedral, and instruct all clergy and believers not to act rashly."
It sounded grand, but put bluntly, it meant to suppress the angry crowd and shut their mouths.
"Y-Your Holiness. What you just said..."
"Do not make me repeat myself. Disperse those gathered at the cathedral and have everyone return to their posts."
There was no way the secretary didn't understand what that meant. The secretary spoke up just in case, but the Pope merely repeated his command with a stern, unyielding attitude.
"Understood."
With those final words, the secretary quickly left the office. Left alone once more, the Pope stared blankly down at his trembling hands.
"Those old fools..."
Currently, the number of people who knew Justia had awakened was extremely small, limited to the Pope, the cardinals, and a few others. Under these circumstances, the identity of the person who knew this truth and had a motive to spread it was painfully obvious. The ones who spread the rumor had to be the radical cardinals. The Pope was certain of it. Under the pretext of "proclaiming the return of the Main God to the far corners of the earth," they clearly intended to bring down the current Papal regime.
"Yes, that must be it," the Pope muttered to himself in a low, dark voice.
He had to protect it. This was the seat of supreme power that he had barely managed to climb to over decades of struggle. He could not afford to lose it to an event that was practically a natural disaster.
"..."
First, he needed to calm down. He needed to think more rationally about his next course of action. The Pope immediately grabbed his outer robe and headed toward the topmost floor of the Papal Palace's spire, which could only be accessed through his office.
The Holy Capital Justia was structured with a gentle slope leading down toward the center. However, the Papal Palace building at its heart towered high above the city walls. Yes. This was it. Though it was nothing more than a view, the terrace at the very top of the spire was a place permitted only to the Pope, allowing him to look down upon the entire Holy Capital.
"Whew—"
The Pope took several deep breaths, savoring the rushing wind. Perhaps because he was now quite far from the bed where the Main God Justia slept, the suffocating pressure of the divine presence that had been tightening around his chest eased significantly. Yes. It was because he was the Pope that he could stand tall and endure the physical manifestation of the Main God. In the first place, hadn't even his secretary—who was supposed to wait outside his office at all times—collapsed from the overwhelming presence of the deity, forcing him to relocate his working area? He stood there for a while, calming the anxiety and anger boiling in his chest.
The Pope gasped, startled, and quickly looked around. But all that met his eyes was the panoramic view of the Holy Capital Justia.
"W-Who is there?" the Pope asked the empty air, his voice trembling.
As if waiting for this exact response, the voice echoed in his head once more.
"My... desires?"
The mysterious voice knew his circumstances all too well. It felt chilling, as if someone were peering directly into his mind. Yet, for some reason, rather than fear, a faint glimmer of hope sparked within the Pope.
The "enemy" the voice spoke of did not simply refer to the cardinals who wished to depose him.
"You... How dare you insult my master!"
The brief hope he had harbored vanished instantly. Snapping back to his senses, the Pope roared, the veins in his neck bulging. It was true that the awakening of the Main God Justia had put him in a difficult position. However, before he was the Pope, he was a clergyman, and a devout follower of Justia, the Goddess of Justice.
"H-How blasphemous!"
The Pope shouted back at the voice's question. Yet, at the exact same time, a seed of doubt began to sprout deep within his heart.
According to the prophecy, the Main God Justia had split into two, and would one day reunite to transcend perfection. And inside the Grand Cathedral of the Papal Palace, the Main God Justia had been sleeping for a very long time. No, she had been sealed. The entrance to the Hall of Dormancy was airtight, blocked by a massive stone door that wouldn't budge even against high-level offensive magic.
"Y-You... No, You..."
The Pope began to think. What if the being sleeping in his office was indeed the half of the Main God that had been sealed away for some unsavory reason? And what if the voice speaking directly into his mind was, in fact, the true Main God Justia whom he had worshipped his entire life?